Create a rotating banner / image header for Blogger

So I wanted to create my own jazzed up header after The Sibling said that the blog layout was boring. I tweaked around some websites, found a bunch of pictures and went overboard with Paint, Snipping Tool, Picasa and Picnik. I intend to keep creating new banner images and have a 'dynamic' header of sorts for a cheery, fresh look. But my troubles had only just begun.

I am no technology whizkid. My eyes glaze over when I come across HTML code. But what I wanted was a steady feed of pictures that would keep the banner refreshed and this endeavour demanded additional effort towards HTML/Javascript/CSS editing since Blogger has no straightforward solution. It took me the better part of a day to figure out how to do this and hopefully others will also benefit from it. I know it is long winded but this is what finally worked for me.

Challenge 1 : Content

I wanted a header/banner that was 1100 pix wide and 200 pix high. So I created my images according to these dimensions. By default, all Blogger images are stored on Picasa Googleweb in a folder named after the blog. I uploaded my images into this folder.

Challenge 2: Identifying the location of the image

I have a separate post on this.

Challenge 3 : Generating code for a rotating banner

Goto http://www.htmlbasix.com/banner.shtml

Banner Code Generator

Put in the required details. I have 3 images that I want to use, so I input those details into the generator. In case the image doesn’t load I should like the blog name to show up, hence the ‘alt text’.

You can play around with the other options. The settings here will produce a banner that is 1100 x 200 pix in size and that will refresh every 15 seconds with one of the 3 images provided.

Hit the ‘Generate’ button at the bottom of the form and copy the code that appears into Notepad.

Challenge 4: Where should this be uploaded on the Blogger page.

In Blogger-> Design->Page Elements, add an HTML/Javascript gadget under the Header.

Add HTML/Javascript Gadget to Blogger Layout

Click ‘Edit’ for the HTML Gadget and paste the code you just generated into the large box.

Paste the banner code into the gadget configuration box

Challenge 5 : Removing margin for HTML/Javascript

By default, the template will include a margin for all gadgets. This will make the HTML Gadget overflow the blog width and look wonky like so. Here, the red banner is the default Blogger Header and the box below it with the seven little girls is the HTML gadget.

HTML gadget overflowing the blog width due to margin

A simple CSS edit will fix this.
In the Advanced potion of the Template Designer, put in the following code in the box

#HTML1{
margin-left: 0px
}

This will align the HTML Gadget properly.

Properly aligned banner with no margin

Since I wanted just this banner on my blog, I removed the ‘Lithium Ribbon (Header)’ box from the Blogger Design.

The End

Now one would think that this could be achieved by using a Picasa feed for the header and playing around with code on the Blogger layout. There are some solutions for using RSS feeds from Picasa, Flickr, Photobucket etc. The Picasa one didnt work for me as all the images appeared horribly pixelated. This is because, the script was referencing the Thumbnail versions of the images and then scaling the Thumbnails.

The same happened when I tried the Slideshow Gadget and I lost patience when faced with the prospect of trawling through the HTML code of the Gadget and editing it. I couldn't figure out how to do that either.

Good Luck with whatever solution you choose to implement.

Casual Games 2 : Galaxy Ace

I am pretty confident that there is research to show that gamers are better equipped to handle pressures of life due to the possession of superior decision making skills – finely honed while constantly striving to better our game scores. Well, even if there isn’t any evidence of the sort, you couldn’t get me to stop playing and I'd rather have sore fingers than a sour personality just because a little delay somewhere set me off on a bad mood. Some of my current favorites for the Android platform include:

Cooking Dash

The game’s title card calls it ‘Restaurant Cook’. This is a fun time management/dash game with two modes Casual & Time. In Casual mode, you have to prepare and serve your patrons’ dishes of choice within a reasonable time. Some dishes need to be cooked while others (bread) can just be served on a plate. You need to take care that your customers don’t lose patience and that your dishes don’t burn while on the stove. 

Casual Mode

Time Mode

Time mode is unlocked after a few levels are completed in Casual mode and this is my preferred variant. You get to serve an array of precooked dishes to customers within a time frame of 2 minutes. So you constantly keep trying to beat your scores while figuring out where on the screen the required item is.

While graphics could certainly do with some brightening up (cute-ning, cut-yfying?), for a free game this provides plenty of entertainment.

Sushi Bar

This is similar to Cooking Dash but focuses on Sushi. The graphics are cleaner and the gameplay is slightly more sophisticated. The objective is to serve up different types of sushi to customers in a limited time. When you run out of ingredients, you need to order more and replenish your inventory. All the while, customers’ patience needs to be monitored and angry patrons can have their frayed nerves soothed with free drinks. You get to open sushi bars in many different locations and each location brings in new recipes and increasing revenue targets. 

Customer Order

Recipe flippin'

I learnt about sushi and different animals used in preparation from this one. A pleasant way to kill time.

Block Puzzle

  

This is a tangram puzzle with Tetris blocks. I needn’t say anymore. There are plenty of free Tangram variants for the Android, but this one seemed a little easier on the eye. This is also a little easier to play since the blocks are already constrained as they cannot be rotated.The game can definitely get a little frustrating if you don’t arrive at the solution very quickly, but it provides a good mental workout and is definitely a better option than getting frustrated while in a queue.

All three games are free to download and play. So, let fun be had by all.

Movie Review : Choejongbyungki Hwal / War of the Arrows (2011)

Already a massive blockbuster in its native South Korea, this is a gripping, super-entertaining movie that should be played worldwide for more people to enjoy. The script is tight, the performances are very good and the action scenes are highly engaging.

The movie is slotted into the historical action movie genre although I found the historical portions to be incidental. This is a movie about warriors playing cat and mouse with each other, with the hunter and the hunted exchanging roles at every turn. This scenario is played out against the background of the second Manchu Invasion of Korea in 1636.

Nam-yi is fiercely protective of his sister Ja-in and when, on her wedding day, she is captured by the invading Manchu army, he will stop at nothing to save her. Nam-Yi is an accomplished archer and must use his entire arsenal of wits and skills to battle the equally powerful enemy, single-handedly.

Hae-il Park plays Nam-Yi, the heroic archer. Over the course of the movie he transforms from an aimless youth into the liberator of his village from the Manchu oppressors. Although a skilled archer and master tactician, this is not a man who enjoys killing and the anguish and uncertainty in his eyes when he is forced to do so elevates him from a mere warrior to the status of a true hero. It is an insightful and delightful interpretation of an action hero.

Seung-yong Ryoo is a scene stealer as Jyu Shin-Ta, the general of the Manchu forces. He is a cool, restrained, calculating commander who is struggling to maintain his composure as Nam-yi is chipping away his elite warriors (and family members) one by one. This is a marvelous portrayal of a man who is thrilled to have met his match and yet is reaching the end of his tether, frustrated by his inability to do away with the enemy.

Moon Chae-Won puts in a competent performance as the feisty and loyal Ja-in. It is a small role and she doesn’t really have much to do except ‘be there’, although the character acts as the catalyst to the plot. Min-seo Jeon plays the younger Ja-in aged about 7 years. She is utterly adorable.

Mu-Yeol Kim is Seo-Goon, Ja-in’s husband. He is extremely cute as the bumbling, love-struck lad who graduates from goofiness to glory as he leads the villagers into an uprising against the Manchus.

Gi-woong Park is Prince Doreukon, the evil Manchu invader. He has a manic grin and a delighted gleam in his eye as he bubbles over with joy while his forces sweep across Korea to victory. It is a small part, but he makes an impression. The rest of the cast is also very good.

The action scenes are the highlight of the movie. They are superbly shot and suitably thrilling and each time Nam-yi strikes bull’s-eye or escapes the enemy, you want to punch your fist in the air in joy and relief. The conflicts are brutal and often bordering on savage. The animal (death) count is high – deer, dogs, horses and tiger.

Well worth your time and money and highly recommended.

Movie Review : My Kingdom (2011)

My Kingdom a.k.a Silly men with floppy hair hamming it up.

I did not like this movie. Barring the intricate costumes nearly everything else is wrong with it. The script is sub-par, the leads can’t perform to save their lives and every scene gets into melodrama overload. Neither is it a satisfactory look into the Chinese opera culture nor a compelling saga on revenge and redemption. This is a shame because the eye popping visuals could have elevated even a poor script to something watchable if not enjoyable.

Guan Yi Long and Meng Er Kui are gifted opera performers who must avenge their Master’s humiliation and reclaim the title of “The Mightiest Warrior” from his old adversary. Er Kui is also obsessed with avenging the death of his family at the hands of the former Prince Regent. The lads must fend for themselves as they forge their way through Shanghai. But their desires may lead them on separate ways and ultimately destroy their careers and even their friendship.

The casting is a let down. Chun Wu as Guan Yi Long and Geng Han as Meng Er Kui struggle REALLY hard, but both are completely unsuited to the job. Geng Han seems to continuously channel Tony Leung. It’s an admirable yet poor effort but he is still better than Chun Wu who simply cannot act. He should stick to modeling or whatever his regular job is.

The hair and makeup department appear to have been a free hand in this movie. Both actors are generously caked in greasepaint and that’s not even when they are performing as opera artists. It cannot bode well for a film if you are watching a scene where brothers are warring and you are more concerned about their tears wiping away the thick layers of yellow makeup on their face than the fact that one of them has just broken a leg. Their hair styles are also particularly distracting. I am no expert but I wouldn’t associate the current pop idol flat-ironed styles with Shanghai in the 1920s. The movie attempts to bring in a ‘period’ look but somehow all the sets look very contrived - though extremely beautiful - and more suited to a vintage-themed photo shoot for a decorating magazine than an authentic setting for this movie.

The super-awesome Yuen Biao and Yu Rongguang redeem the movie a little bit. Both veterans have more talent in their pinky fingers than the main leads and it shows. Their presence in the first half promises some hope for the movie. But once Yu Rongguang leaves, the script disintegrates spectacularly and makes for a horrible second half.

Louis Liu is very interesting as General Lu. With his ‘emo’ styling, he appears to have traveled back in time from the 2000s to early 20^th century Shanghai. His military-chic clothing, big hair and affected gestures are puzzling and he isn’t physically suited to the role of a police officer either. But he is very intriguing - whether by choice or by chance one really cannot say. It feels like there was something more to the character but the writer/director/editor lost interest and did away with the scenes.

Barbie Hsu is the saving grace of the movie. As the beautiful object of everyone’s desires, she is suitably conflicted, conniving and cool. Yet when she starts shrieking and screeching in her action scenes towards the end of the movie, one has simply had enough.

Mercifully it is a short-ish film and if you can be happy with aesthetics, you shouldn’t suffer too much but you could still avoid it.

Review : Where's My Water

Where's My Water is a Disney Mobile puzzle game for the Android platform. It involves diverting the flow of water through a bunch of obstacles so that it reaches an alligator's shower-bath, an alligator that is desperate to take a bath and will whine and bang the tub if the water doesn't flow out on time.

WMW - Title Screen

WMW - one of the levels

Obviously there is a water stream, constrained by gravity, time, pipes, bombs and sand formations. We encounter moss that absorbs the water, pink acid that will turn the water into acid and green slime that will melt into the water. These also have other interesting reactions with each other and the objective of the game is to figure out the correct tool to build the  path. Each level also has 3 duckies that need to be dunked in order to score maximum points. 

While sometimes you need to take care about having the water flow at particular angles, you don't have to be a physics ace to play this game. Mainly requiring the application of common sense, EVERYONE will enjoy it since it is simple enough to adapt to and complex enough to give you a sense of satisfaction at completing the level. Where Angry Birds regularly builds up the complexity to near-frustrating levels, Where's My Water never compromises on the playability. The graphics are cheerful and bright, music is alright and the game runs smoothly on the Galaxy Ace.

WMW - Levels

Treasures and Bonus levels

I haven't played any other games from the Disney stable previously, always slotting them into the cutesy, kiddy category and was pleasantly taken aback at the quality of this game. With over 120 levels and bonus levels for finding hidden treasures, there is tremendous re-play value. I finished the entire game over two days. Yet, I could still play it all over again to beat my previous scores and not feel the tiniest bit jaded. 

I tend to descend into extra-lavish praise of content that really excites me. And since I am unique (just like everyone else!), this means that many of my personal preferences don't often fall into the popular or even mainstream categories. The ratings for this game have consistently been high on Amazon and the Android Market. It retails for $1, delivering excellent value for your money. 

Highly recommended.

Data collection for thesis : Pointers, Insights, Dos and Don'ts

One of my frequent collaborators has had some interesting - bordering on exasperating - experiences while she has been on a survey spree. She took the trouble to distil the essence of her acquired wisdom in order to provide insights into what to anticipate while gathering data for your thesis and pointers on how to manage exigencies. This should be extremely valuable to doctoral students, PhDs-in-the-making who are embarking on this venture.


While it helps to be structured and have a robust plan of action, you should be prepared to encounter uncertainty and bucket loads of frustration on a near daily basis. The key to not go insane, while watching your non-progressing Gantt Chart, is to be flexible and keep your eyes on the prize. Big picture. Perspective. Hold on tight to your copy of Murphy's laws.


Read her views at
http://mitushispeak.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/data-collection-woes-some-dos-donts/

Movie Review : The Sorcerer and the White Snake (2011)

Don’t be fooled by name into thinking that this yet another cheesy Chinese take on a Hercules/Xena-Warrior Princess mythic storyline. This is a truly epic, awesome fairytale and totally in sync with what I think a fantasy film ought to be. There are monsters, super powers, epic battles, force fields and kungfu.

Abott Fahai is a demon slayer who, along with his disciple, wanders the countryside looking for devious demons to capture. His chief weapons are his faith and his rosary although he is pretty mean with knives, axes and cloaks as well. His idea of torture for the demons that he has captured is, funnily enough, a strict course of meditation and repentance within a cool containment unit in his monastery. When he encounters a simple village medic and his wife, he cannot control himself from unmasking the woman as a demon and sets off a chain of tragic events.

I won’t give away the plot too much, simply because it is so much fun to watch the action unfold. There are no limits to imagination here and while this freedom is not completely capitalized on, it is an exciting roller coaster for the viewer.

One could get into analysis of the underlying themes here, the more obvious one being a greater need for humans to control their meddlesome intentions and controlling urges in relation to the environment and animals. Had the abbot not interfered with the harmless White Snake, the ensuing tragedy would have been averted. Ultimately, the very demon that he despises comes to his aid.

The other undercurrent in the movie is its slant towards misogyny. It doesn’t help that the majority of demons are in female form as temptresses, seducing the men to their doom. We don’t see any women victims either. Even White Snake is fairly uninhibited and sexually aggressive. Clearly the female form represents desire-slash-evil and the abbot-slash-religion is the instrument to curb and subdue their natural selves. White Snake meditates for over a thousand years and is a higher being –in the grand scheme of things - than the mortal abbot. Yet for all her cool, magical powers and sheer force of might, she must suppress her wild nature and ‘accept’ religion in order to truly redeem herself. All this is when the abbot forces his way into her life even though she is not really causing much harm. Despite that, when she finally breaks down and ‘admits’ to her ‘sins’, she is ‘rewarded’ with separation from her beau. Woman, suffering shall be thy lot.

One doesn’t really know if these were unintentional because an adventure film such as this usually doesn’t descend into moralizing. I should like to put that down to my over-trained brain, because I really liked the film.

The movie is awash with digital effects, not all rendered very nicely, especially towards the climax. There is an adorable talking mouse though. Even the wirework can get excessive – though I can’t really stomach ANY wirework in a movie.

Based on looks alone, the willowy Eva Huang shouldn’t have made the cut. However, she is a surprise package. After a few initial awkward scenes of frolicking in the meadows, she gets into the skin of the character and is alternately vengeful and loving as the script demands. She is given a meaty role and is more than a match for Jet Li.

Jet Li has never been famed for his acting prowess. He is given a less demanding role here. As the wry, duty bound, stern demon-slayer-abbot, he is in his comfort zone. He looks the part and completely kicks butt with his own brand of action.

Raymond Lam’s role is undemanding and he is required mainly to play a good-natured foil to both Jet Li and Eva Huang.

Charlene Choi and Wen Zhang have strong supporting roles and I found myself rooting more for this couple than for White Snake and Xu Xian.

In order to make it a truly perfect film (for myself), I would have snipped the ending by about 10-15 minutes. I don’t really subscribe to the (Chinese) view that an individual’s tortuous route to salvation needs to be depicted in excruciatingly, torturous detail. By the time the abbot and White Snake get into their self-actualization states, I was rolling my eyes ready to scream ‘Yes! I get it! Enlightenment has found them”

I would have also changed the ending because COME ON! How could you not.?

However, you get your money’s worth and more with this movie. There is something for everyone and I can’t urge you enough to go have a look.

One of the best entertainers of 2011.

Movie Review : I Don't Know How She Does It (2011)

Often, the appeal of a film lies less in itself and more in the viewer’s viewing circumstances. You could watch a well made movie – Jane Eyre (2011) comes to mind – and find it uninteresting because you were thinking of the next day’s work deliverables to send out while gingerly massaging that sore point on your spine that was throbbing a little too much after driving over dust paths and rocks to reach your remote factory site. May be that was just me.

Or you could watch ‘The House Bunny’ and LOVE it just because you had a wonderful day and it was a good way to end it with a bunch of laughs. Again this could is a specific personal circumstance.

Hence, I must be indulged when I say that IDKHSDI is a good example of the latter. Having not watched a movie for a long time (a week IS a long time for me), I popped this into the video player with trepidation. Reviews have been overwhelmingly negative, even for a chick flick.

The movie is based on a bestseller chick lit of the same name, hardly a seminal look at women’s travails at balancing family and career demands when published in 2002. With zero to negative expectations, I warmed to the plot and found myself suitably invested in Kate’s problems and her self-inflicted pressures to be everything to everyone.

Kate Reddy is pitching a major investment fund idea to her bosses and she must juggle her increased workload and ensuing travel with the demands of her husband and two little children. No surprises here, there are a couple of obstacles but all goes well and Kate ends up with a promotion AND more family time.

Sarah Jessica Parker is her usual anxious-to-please, likable self here. Forever stuck in Carrie Bradshaw mode, she really seems to have no other approach to playing her characters - which is not really a bad thing. She doesn’t usually feature in intellectually stimulating fare anyway, so when you watch anything that she features in, you know what you are getting yourself into. Here she licks batter off her cardigan, frantically scratches her lice-infested scalp (very realistically I may add), goes bowling in a frock and generally saves the day. The aging process isn’t being kind to her though and she looks a little too haggard here. 

Christina Hendricks is the obligatory best friend and Olivia Munn is the stereotypical, driven career-woman. Both are cardboard cutout characters, but the roles clearly are good breaks from their television day jobs for both actresses.

Greg Kinnear and Pierce Brosnan are oh-so-good eye candy. They just seem a little too much for the roles. In a chick flick and SJP vehicle, the men don’t really matter as long as they are hunky and appear suitably impressed and charmed by the female lead’s – often ditzy – antics.

It’s meant to be a comedy but is not very funny. I did smile a bit – more at the moviemakers’ attempts to accurately portray a corporate, investment banker feel by randomly dropping jargon all over the place. Having the actors constantly break the fourth wall was something I didn’t really like as well. I associate that tactic more with television and combining that with SJP, made the movie seem like back-to-back episodes of some a generic TV Show.

In all, it is rather mind numbing and cliché ridden, but it is 90 minutes of watching SJP prance around doing her thing. There are worse ways to spend your time.

Movie Review : Rockstar (2011)

Janardhan Jhakad wants to be a musician and a legendary one at that. While his talent is unmistakable, his music has neither soul nor passion in it. His friend/manager muses that unless he experiences pain and tragedy, his music will never have the necessary fuel to rise above the ordinary. Janardhan/Jordan sets out to seek heartbreak - and finds it in spades. He loses most everything that he takes for granted – family, livelihood, love – and, in one touching scene, realises that music alone is his salvation if he chooses to give it his all. Yet, when he fulfills his dream, he also realizes that he would give up everything in the blink of an eye for love.

Rockstar aims to be a blend of a love story and a look at what drives talent to succeed and get enmeshed in the trappings of success. The first half takes a look at how Jordan finds his muse and sets about on his calling. The second half is a chaotic mess as we watch how he copes with loss and sorrows, even as his star is on the rise.

It is difficult to reconcile the boy who has known rejection and privation with the rockstar who repeatedly looks a gift horse in the mouth. Sure, human beings are complex characters, yet here we are not treated to sensitive insights on why this man is so. Jordan doesn’t mature over the better part of three years or come to terms with life and too often he resorts to venting his frustration through being rude, violent and destructive. Yet, the lingering question is - does the pain experienced at being unlucky in love truly warrant such a crude display of bad-boy behavior? One too many times we are left with the feeling that a silly, self-centered, rebel-without-a-cause, man-child is posing for the cameras.

The pain he feels doesn’t appear to translate into markedly better music or better writing either. We think of him as less of a musical genius and more of a well marketed artist. As the music company owner declares, ‘image’ matters more than talent, and Jordan’s fame is fed by photo shoots and media coverage of his ‘rebellious’ behavior.

The female lead, Heer is meant to be the epitome of femininity and passion. She comes across as parasitic, selfish, bored and under sexed. The antics that appear quirky, free spirited and rebellious for a college girl simply appear weird for a, presumably happily, married woman. We are not given to understand what exactly she is looking for and why she re-bonds with Jordan who is boorish and earthy when compared to her suave, affluent, understanding husband. If she seeks him out for his ardor, she has few qualms about letting him go and getting on with her life. Effectively, she seems to be looking to have the best of both worlds – hardly an ideal muse for a sweeping love story.

The reason the script begets a deeper look is due to Imtiaz Ali’s name being attached here. He has proven himself to be adept at delivering fresh, intelligent, commercial cinema with well fleshed characters. Here he chooses to ride on the goodwill he has garnered till date by filming a patchy, uneven script populated with unlikable people who are difficult to empathize or sympathize with.

For a musical, the score is a major disappointment. Except for the epic ‘Sadda haq’ the other songs are forgettable.

Nargis Fakhri is lovely, but she is no actress. She must be fortune’s favourite child since there can be no other explanation for her landing the lead role in the face of all the home grown talent that can act in circles all around her.

Ranbir Kapoor is a revelation. He switches between shy, charming, dashing, rebellious, arrogant, spoilt, petulant and charismatic at the drop of a hat. This is his show all the way because Imtiaz Ali mislaid his thinking cap somewhere.

Considering the quality of talent attached to this movie, this was a potential classic in the making. Ideally it should have been a unique affair that could hold its own, anywhere and anytime; it feels immensely disappointing to recommend this movie only because it is a better film when compared to the stuff churned out recently.

Movie Review : Dzhentlmeny udachi / Gentlemen of Fortune (1972)

Studio Mosfilm’s 1972 comedy Dzhentlmeny udachi was a massive blockbuster on release. Now a Russian classic, it deals with the shenanigans of a group of thieves - gentlemen of fortune - who must relocate an object that their gang leader has hidden away.

A bunch of small time crooks steal an artifact – a helmet belonging to Alexander the Great - from the site of an archeological excavation. They are captured by the police who have a tough time getting the leader to reveal any information about the priceless artifact. They send in a doppelganger of the leader to impersonate him and extract information from his henchmen regarding the whereabouts of the stolen object. The imposter, who is really a soft spoken kindergarten teacher, must adopt the mannerisms and language of petty criminals in order to successfully find the relic. He pretends to have lost his memory and stages a jailbreak. On the way he realizes that ‘his’ henchmen are really simple folk who don't necessarily relish a life of crime and sets about to reform and rehabilitate them.

The movie is primarily a comedy but there are a few dark moments – the most of serious of which occurs when the troubled Gavrila realizes he has let his family down and attempts suicide believing he is beyond redemption. The distinguished looking Georgy Vitsin, who plays Gavrila, brings the despair of the character to the surface. It is an uncomfortable scene for the viewer.

Yevgeny Leonov plays the dual roles of the nasty gang leader and the genial school teacher. He transforms from a kindly character to a sneering, scheming brute with aplomb. He must constantly struggle to maintain the façade of the tough criminal for his increasingly suspicious henchmen and these situations make for funny sequences.

Yet again, this is a movie where familiarity with the native language will make or break the deal. There is little slapstick and only Russian language speakers will appreciate the slang and street language that is generally lauded as the highlight of this film.

Even if you must resort to the subtitles to understand it, this is a pleasant, old fashioned entertainer to while away an afternoon with.

Prayer

 

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Movie Review : Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2011)

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is an exotic tale of friendship between two girls in China. The relationship is initiated formally by their families and the girls themselves continue to nurture the friendship despite their lives leading them on different paths. At its core it’s a tale of a relationship that doesn’t always survive human failings. We are given fascinating insights into the lives of 19^th century women in rural China with glimpses into food, clothing, travel, rituals, ceremonies, songs and of course, the secret language of nu shu. The women must come to terms with their lives. They are constantly on edge, trying to navigate a complex web of relationships that bring much heartache but simply cannot be broken.

It's plain to see that the filmmakers were also enthralled by the story. So much so, that they decided to have it repeated TWICE in the movie – one is the original tale and the other is set in contemporary Shanghai. The same actresses portray both sets of laotong (sworn sisters).

Lily is born into a poor family. Based on the size and quality of her feet after the process of foot binding and also as predicted by the stars, she is destined to marry well and have a happy, prosperous life. In order to kick start her good fortune, she is contractually bound as a laotong to Snow Flower, a girl from an affluent family.

The girls grow to love each other dearly and strive to stay close even when Lily is married into a wealthy family and Snow Flower is wed to a lowly butcher.

It may be unfair to compare the movie to the book. Perhaps if you watch the movie without having read it, you might enjoy it. However, having watched the movie with the mater (who hadn’t read the book) I find that unlikely.

Comparisons to Memoirs of a Geisha are inevitable. The mater found that movie and her subsequent perusal of the book to be vastly enjoyable. This movie didn’t really pique her interest to have a go at the source material. That’s due to the fact that most of the elements that added to the pleasure of the book have been omitted here.

Many of the important characters are given little screen time. The mothers of both girls, their catty mothers-in-law and the matchmaker form a little society of women that keep driving the girls up the wall and pushing them closer, seeking unconditional trust and companionship in each other. All these people are reduced to walk-on appearances in the movie.

The little pleasures each girl derives from the other's company, their annual visit to the temple and fair, Snow Flower’s training in household chores, Lily’s awe of Snow Flower, her horror at the pathetic circumstances that her friend is reduced to and her subsequent rejection of Snow Flower, Lily's inability to derive love and comfort from her gentle husband in stark contrast to Snow Flower's devotion to her brutish spouse, their awful experiences while exiled in the mountains during the rebellion and Snow Flower’s gradual decline into depression on the death of her son are all glossed over when truly, these elements formed the backbone of the story.

Instead we are treated to numerous close ups of the leads staring pensively into space as generic music plays in the background.  Three writers have been credited with the screenplay – is this heavily condensed version the best they could come up with for a movie adaptation? It plays like an extended slideshow.

Li Bingbing looks a little old to play Lily/Nina in the characters’ younger years. She has to steer the movie and puts up a good show while playing the long-suffering girl who must look out for her friend.

Gianna Jun is wet-eyed and demure as the tragic Snow Flower but annoying and self-absorbed as Sophia.

Hugh Jackman has an unnecessary cameo as Arthur. If you can be satisfied with that sort of thing, he sings in English and Chinese and looks handsome in a suit.

My opinion of this movie may be colored due to already having read the book. A friend who judged the movie on its own merits, found it appealing. It is possible that the filmmakers wanted this movie to appeal to both Western and Chinese audiences; hence the dual track. So go ahead and have your own take on this.

Watch for exotic elements and a nice story about friendship and sacrifice. 

But read the book for a better experience.