Not Alone

Yen-j

After losing out on the Golden Melody Best New Artiste award to Weibird Wei, Taiwanese singer-songwriter Yen-j has pipped him to the release of a sophomore album.

Yen-j rightly deserved a nomination for the fresh jazz-pop sounds of Thanks Your Greatness (2010). And the bouncy opener here Thanks For Your Inspiration initially suggests that Not Alone will be more of the same – both in name and music.

Unfortunately, lightning fails to strike twice. The inventiveness and playfulness that characterised his debut album seems to be less in evidence here.

Where he once wondered if he was ahead of the curve of mainstream Mandopop, he is now firmly ensconced in it on tracks such as Good Things and the duet with Rene Liu, No Melody Can Match To You.

While Love Is Curry from the first album had deliciously sampled the jazz standard Take The A Train, his take here on Charlie Parker’s classic bebop track Donna Lee is less satisfying.

Still, the album perks up towards the end and Take Your Willpower has flashes of that fiercely individualistic young man who broke out last year: “Want to hurt me? Want to scare me? Not that easily.”

Here’s hoping that Yen-j maintains that kind of courage when it comes to his music.

Answer

Hagen Troy

Local singer-songwriter Hagen Troy is the man behind hits such as Wonder In Madrid for Jolin Tsai and Love Has Always Been There for Rachel Liang.

He has a knack for easy-breezy radio-friendly compositions which Answer serves up on tracks such as As Long As You’re Happy. Meanwhile, Let Me Tell You and Puppet venture into dance-pop territory. The album is lyrically diverse as well, tackling everything from romantic relationships to the nature of lies to the greatness of mothers.

If you have questioned what is happening with the local music scene, this is one Answer worth checking out.

(ST)

Treasure Inn

Wong Jing

If Hong Kong’s Wong Jing had a middle name, it would be Prolific. He has directed 98 films, produced 138 and has scriptwriter credit for 149.

His output is highly erratic, encompassing everything from the action comedy of the classic God Of Gamblers (1989) to sexploitation flicks such as Raped By An Angel 4: The Raper’s Union (1999).

Happily, Treasure Inn is in the vein of the former. The MacGuffin here is a stolen white jade Guanyin statue but the point is really to watch the actors making fools of themselves.

Nick Cheung and Nicholas Tse, who were both in the taut thriller The Stool Pigeon (2010), ditch their grim and intense personas and put on their silly hats. Cheung is a hoot to watch as a lowly buck-toothed constable who has an inflated view of his looks. Tse, though, perhaps distracted by marital problems with wife Cecilia Cheung, seems rather subdued here.

Throw in Huang Yi and Charlene Choi as their respective love interests, a gathering of crooks and thieves at a desert inn auction and nonsensical gags and it all adds up to an enjoyably rambunctious ride.

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13 Assassins

Takashi Miike

The story: In the dying days of the feudal system in Japan, Lord Naritsugu’s (Goro Inagaki) twisted appetite for sex and violence ignites widespread outrage. But he is above the law as he is the younger brother of the shogun. A trusted samurai Shinzaemon (Koji Yakusho) is hired to kill Naritsugu and he rounds up 11 more men for the job. They are later joined by a hunter Koyata (Yusuke Iseya), making up the titular 13 killers.

Japanese director Takashi Miike is associated with graphic violence in movies such as Ichi The Killer (2001).

Perhaps having gotten that gore fest out of his system, 13 Assassins, a remake of Eeichi Kudo’s 1963 black- and-white film, feels restrained.

There are at least two scenes of seppuku, or ceremonial self-disembowelling, but Miike refrains from zooming in on the guts spilling out.

Not that there is a lack of onscreen violence, though some of it is implied rather than depicted. Before we see Lord Naritsugu, viewers are told horrific tales of his rapaciousness, including details of what he does to the daughter of a rebel leader.

It is hard to imagine that a man could be so depraved but Goro Inagaki from the evergreen J-pop outfit SMAP turns in a chilling performance with his cold, dead eyes.

The film then becomes a battle of wits between Shinzaemon, which veteran actor Koji Yakusho imbues with noble gravitas, and Naritsugu’s head samurai Hanbei (Masachika Ichimura), a tragic samurai who clings desperately onto the notion of loyalty. Both sides work out their attack and defence strategies as Naritsugu has to travel home from Edo.

All this is a set-up for the last stand, in which the vastly outnumbered 13 assassins turn a small peaceful town into a death trap.

Miike keeps the ensuing bloodbath riveting as there are myriad inventive ways in which the town has been rigged with booby traps and divisive barriers and incredibly, the 13 men seem to be gaining the upper hand at first.

Inevitably, the sheer numerical superiority of Naritsugu’s forces begins to wear them down.

It would not be giving anything away to reveal that there are losses among the assassins. But since there are 13 of them, personalities get lost in the mix and the emotional impact of some of the deaths is negligible.

Among the characters who do stand out are Masataka Kubota as Oguta, the poignantly young samurai, and Takayuki Yamada as Shinrokuro, a dispirited samurai taking a gamble on achieving something with his life.

While the plot to bring down Naritsugu is painted in black-and-white, good-and-evil extremes, Miike is also clearly ambivalent about the samurai ethos of honour, loyalty and sacrifice.

The hunter Koyata, played with humour and loose-limbed dexterity by model-actor Yusuke Iseya, grouses about the “boring samurai” and in one scene, displays a voracious sexual appetite as well.

It is a funny and disquieting moment that unmistakably marks this as a Miike flick.

(ST)

Green Lantern

Martin Campbell

The story: Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) is a brash and cocky pilot who has yet to come to terms with his father’s death in a plane crash. He also has an unresolved relationship with fellow pilot Carol Ferris (Blake Lively). Naturally, all this makes him the top pick to be a new Green Lantern warrior, the first human to be chosen to be a protector of the universe. His power comes from a ring which enables him to physically project his will and he later proves to be instrumental in the battle against an enemy, Parallax, who feeds on fear.

You wonder if Green Lantern gets much respect from his fellow spandexed crime fighters and world saviours.

Should there be a convention of superheroes in town, one imagines that Superman automatically gets bragging rights for, well, being born super; Spider-Man can boast of his Broadway musical (even if it has been critically panned); while Iron Man will look smugly on, as he knows that his movie franchise has made heaps of money.

Meanwhile, Green Lantern has to lug his lantern around for fear of running out of power for his cheap-looking ring.

And the others probably resent the fact that there are a few thousand intergalactic Green Lantern warriors taking up space and hogging the hors d’oeuvres.

The only one Lantern gets to lord over is Green Hornet, who is not even part of the line-up of either DC or Marvel Comics. Tsk.

All of which is to say that Green Lantern is not a cool superhero and that is something a US$200-million (S$247-million) budget, 3-D effects and Ryan Reynolds in a skin-tight sheath cannot quite fix.

Even director Martin Campbell, who successfully rebooted the James Bond franchise with Daniel Craig in Casino Royale (2006), is not up to the task.

He aims a potshot or two, but is otherwise reluctant to take the mickey out of a superhero who has the lamest masked disguise ever.

Instead, we get earnest speeches about conquering fear and a decidedly lacklustre scene in which Hal argues for Earth’s survival before a council of elders.

With the exception of perhaps Buried (2010), Reynolds’ onscreen achievements continue to be eclipsed by his off-screen ones, notably as People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive last year and a two-year stint as Mr Scarlett Johansson.

Regrettably, the chemistry between him and co-star Blake Lively (from TV’s Gossip Girl) is more friendly than sizzling.

But at least she gets to be the spunky gal who helps to save the day rather than a mere damsel in distress.

There is one other key element missing from this superhero flick: A memorable arch enemy. Where would Superman be without Lex Luthor or Spider-Man without the Green Goblin?

Here, we get the amorphous blob that is Parallax, an error of a villain who barely has a personality.

The potential of Peter Saarsgard’s Dr Hector Hammond – as a tragic character who is thrust into villainy – is, unfortunately, not fulfilled.

The teaser at the end of the film suggests, though, that a more interesting nemesis lies in wait for Hal should a sequel roll around.

If not, Green Lantern should just skip the next gathering of superfolk and spare himself the ragging.

(ST)

The Tell Tale Heart

Tizzy Bac

Taiwanese indie stalwarts Tizzy Bac take inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe’s macabre tale of murder and insanity on their fifth full-length album.

The first nine tracks – beginning with All Is Dream and ending with Dream Is Over – can be taken as a song cycle in which the trio tackle the darker side of relationships and life with numbers such as Death Of An Insurance Salesman.

They won me over with Who Has Eaten My Brain, in which loneliness is personified as a brain-eating zombie.

Vocalist and lyricist Chen Hui-ting imagines herself being stalked: “Hiding in the crowd, don’t be too conspicuous, I can’t, can’t be found by loneliness.”

Doomsday Piano Player, though, feels like a weaker retread of the brilliant Wedding Singer off their wonderfully titled last album, I’m Not Afraid Of Demons If I’ve Seen Hell (2009).

The penchant for doom and gloom could easily be dreary but there is a wicked sense of humour that rears its head every so often.

The accompanying visuals in the lyric booklet certainly help with Chen, drummer Lin Chein-yuan and bassist Hsu Che-yu quirkily represented by toy figurines.

And on the song Nobility And Humour, with its hand claps and joyous piano, they declare: “Everyone wants to look dashing, I just want nobility and humour.”

There is more to savour after the song cycle as Tizzy Bac dive into a rich clutch of songs.

There is I Don’t Want To Sleep Alone with its skittering beats, the synth-propelled Forget Throw Away and the English number Every Dog Has Its Lawn, which is somewhat nonsensical, but winningly so.

The sprawling album may seem a little daunting to get through at first but it is rich in musical and lyrical detail that makes it worth revisiting.

This is one that you will take to heart.

People Sing For People

Mr.

Since emerging from the underground indie scene in 2008, Canto-rock quintet Mr. have quickly built a name for themselves.

I did a double take listening to them for the first time as lead singer Alan Po sounds like a dead ringer for one of my favourite male vocalists Eason Chan. There is that same rich, expressive voice, though Po’s is a shade less evocative.

Indeed, the band once recorded a track titled If I Were Eason Chan for their debut album If I Am... (2009).

On their new album, Mr. go for energetic rousers such as Zero Hour Commotion and stirring anthems such as Storm.

It is their soft-rock ballads that leave the most lasting impression, though, as Po shows his more sensitive side with numbers such as That Year, This Day.

On the beautifully understated closer Forget You In This Way, Po delivers a restrained performance that puts his sexy lower register front and centre. He comes more into his own and sounds less like Chan. And that is certainly no bad thing.

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Pinoy Sunday

Ho Wi Ding

The story: Filipinos Dado (Bayani Agbayani) and Manuel (Jeffrey ‘Epy’ Quizon) are guest workers in Taipei. One Sunday, they come across a red couch that is abandoned on the street and decide to haul it back to their dormitory.

One of the pleasures of watching films is the fact that it can open a window into a new world – which sometimes happens to be one you are familiar with, only seen from a totally different perspective.

Pinoy Sunday takes place in Taipei but is largely filtered through the eyes of its Filipino characters. Instead of Mandarin and Minnan, it is Tagalog we hear even as the iconic Taipei 101 building looms in the background. Indeed, Anna (Meryll Soriano), a Filipino domestic helper, remarks at one point: “My ears hurt when they curse in Chinese.”

The movie is an exercise in empathy, which director and co-scriptwriter Ho Wi Ding executes with humour and compassion. The Malaysia-born, Taipei- based film-maker was named Best New Director at the Golden Horse Awards last November for this film.

In addition, the film also features a classic odd-couple set-up. Manuel is the charming daydreamer who cajoles the more cautious Dado into taking part in his schemes. As the irascible Manuel, Epy Quizon mixes smooth-talking smarts with a sparkle in his eye, playing off Bayani Agbayani’s grumpy reluctance.

It is an engagingly realistic friendship as they quibble, sulk and groan their way across Taipei while straining under the weight and bulk of a red couch.

The sight of two men struggling with a sofa is a simple but effective visual gag and Ho also cooks up several entertaining episodes along the way, including a detour to the police station and their involvement in an attempted suicide.

For all its light comedic tone, there are glimpses of the darker underside of the lives of foreign workers.

Celia (Alessandro de Rossi), the girl who catches Manuel’s eye, is a domestic helper who is sleeping with a married man. And one of the first things that Dado sees on arriving at Taipei’s airport is a fellow countryman being deported back to the Philippines.

It also means, however, that the film takes a while to get to the men’s adventures in furniture transportation.

There is a sense of urgency to their undertaking as they need to make it back to their dormitory before the curfew and the very real threat of deportation hangs over their heads.

You root for them to beat the clock and wonder how such a story would have unfolded here and what Singapore would look like through Filipino eyes.

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Diva

Wakin Chau

Taiwan’s Wakin Chau gets in touch with his feminine side – complete with make-up and hairpiece. Yes, that’s him on the cover as a Chinese opera female impersonator.

The makeover makes sense since Chau is covering songs by women singers here. He does not change the gender in the material, so on Winnie Hsin’s Understanding, he sings: “I thought I would seek revenge/But I didn’t/When I saw the man I once loved deeply as helpless as a baby.”

There is a sensitivity to his reading that just about makes it work. He comes off even better when one compares this to Eric Moo’s nuance-free belting on The Classic (2009), in which he also covered songs by female artists. Some of the more recent numbers, including Sandy Lam’s At Least There Is Still You and A-mei’s Hostage, are still too fresh in the mind to be reinterpreted.

The remake of Anita Mui’s Women Are Like Flowers is anything but safe, though, as it features Peking opera artist Hu Wenge. While the late Mui’s singular version sounded like a lament, Chau’s version, intriguingly enough, sounds more like a paean to women. Guess you could say this record is one instance where diva behaviour is acceptable.

Soul_Mate

Rachel Liang

On her third album, Taiwan’s Rachel Liang ventures beyond singing about love and muses about friendship as well. The title track is in fact how one shades into the other, though the lyrics pretty much spell things out: “I love you very much, I’m really sure, you’re like a lover, and a soul mate.”

The runner-up in the second season of singing competition One Million Star sounds shrill on the ballads and fares better on the faster-paced tracks. The perky Happy Holiday is about leaving a love triangle behind while the Adia-penned Can’t Take It captures the dizzy joy of falling in love.

After all the ups and downs of friendships and relationships, the album ends with Still Friends, an upbeat number about moving on, which accepts that love, sometimes, is simply not meant to be.

(ST)

Something Borrowed

Luke Greenfield

The story: Attorney Rachel (Ginnifer Goodwin) is the wallflower to Darcy’s (Kate Hudson) obnoxious Venus flytrap. Somehow though, they have remained best friends through the years and Darcy even met her husband-to-be Dex (Colin Egglesfield) through Rachel. Then one night, after having had too much to drink, Rachel ends up sleeping with Dex.

Ginnifer Goodwin is 33 but there is still something of the little-girl-lost look about her.

Best known for her turn as a Mormon wife in the television drama Big Love, she is well cast as Rachel, bringing a degree of vulnerability to a character who is something of a doormat.

It also means that we are firmly in her corner when Rachel slips up and sleeps with her best friend’s fiance.

The deck is further stacked in her favour when we learn, though a series of flashbacks, that there used to be a flickering attraction between Rachel and Dex back in law school.

Goodwin and Colin Egglesfield, from the long-running soap opera All My Children, make for a sweet couple and it is clear who is meant to end up with whom.

It never is a mystery in romantic comedies as to who is right for each other but the pleasure is in watching the characters get there.

The problem here is that the more the movie drags on, the less sympathetic Rachel and Dex become.

Taiwanese soaps are not the only culprits when it comes to characters who dither about without being able to make up their minds and take action.

The only one spouting some sense is Ethan, a long-time friend of Rachel and Darcy.

John Krasinski, from the TV comedy The Office, plays the platonic confidante and also serves up some laughs when he pretends to be gay to escape the attention of an over-zealous female admirer.

After all that set-up and build-up, the inevitable showdown between Rachel and Darcy is simply not very satisfying.

In a sign that her star is not shining quite as brightly after ho-hum romantic comedies such as Fool’s Gold (2008) and Bride Wars (2009), Hudson has been relegated to playing second fiddle here. And an unlikeable one at that.

Ideally, the film, based on the 2005 novel by Emily Giffin, would have explored in a more thoughtful manner the toxic relationship between the two frenemies.

But for that to happen, Darcy would need to be an actual character and not a convenient irritant.

(ST)

Finishing The Hat

By Stephen Sondheim

American composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim is a towering figure in the genre of musical theatre. His body of work is held in such high esteem that a 1994 New York Magazine cover story even asked, “Is Stephen Sondheim God?”

He started out as a lyricist for the hit shows West Side Story (1957) and Gypsy (1959) and went on to pen both the music and words for influential works such as Company (1970), which explored modern-day relationships, and Sweeney Todd (1979), whose unlikely protagonist was a murderous barber.

What this volume does is to collect his lyrical output from 1954’s Saturday Night through to 1981’s Merrily We Roll Along. As the subtitle spells it out, the lyrics are presented with “attendant comments, principles, heresies, grudges, whines and anecdotes”.

Sondheim has three key principles that he constantly reiterates: God is in the details, less is more and content dictates form.

For example, he points out that in the song Losing My Mind, the line “To think about you” is more effective than “And think about you” as it takes a character deeper into her obsession.

Not that Finishing The Hat is insufferably self-congratulatory. If anything, Sondheim is his own harshest critic and often points out what he considers to be flaws in his work.

He also takes potshots at some unexpected composers and lyricists, including Oscar Hammerstein II. Not only was he one-half of Rodgers and Hammerstein, the team behind South Pacific (1949) and The Sound Of Music (1959), he was also a mentor and surrogate father to Sondheim.

While acknowledging his debt to the man, Sondheim calls him out for redundancy and sometimes getting carried away with pretty images.

There are also juicy bits of trivia and arresting anecdotes scattered throughout the volume from the fact that he has stockpiled a lifetime’s supply of Blackwings pencils and yellow legal pads to Hermione Gingold’s surprising audition for A Little Night Music (1973).

This is essential reading for fans and anyone with an interest in the process of artistic creation. Sondheim’s musicals are, of course, essential for everyone.

If you like this, read: Art Isn’t Easy: The Theater Of Stephen Sondheim by Joanne Gordon. An academic look at Stephen Sondheim’s musicals.

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R U Watching?

A-Mei

All eyes are on how the Taiwanese diva will follow up her 2009 breakthrough album Amit. For Amit, she had scooped six trophies, including one for Best Female Vocalist, at the Golden Melody Awards last year.

There is no sign here of Amit, the alter ego unveiled on her last record, although her latest offering does display a split personality.

R U Watching? is daringly sequenced, with five ballads in a row, followed by five uptempo songs. Top lyricist Lin Xi writes the words for all the ballads, while A-Mei’s manager Chen Chen-chuan pens the words to the five fast tracks.

Artists would usually mix it up to keep things interesting for listeners with short attention spans. But A-Mei is confident enough that she can draw you in with her big emotive voice. And she does.

The first half works beautifully because of the quality of the material. The opener is a bluesy torch number, What Time Is It Already, while A Dialogue With Myself has her singing a duet with herself. Taiwanese newcomer Yen-J composed They, a sweet tale of romance. And My Dearest has A-Mei musing tenderly about a former lover.

When listeners get to the title track, after the halfway mark, the record’s tempo and character change: The song, with its mysterious, thrilling and shrill strings, sounds like it could be the Mandarin theme song to a James Bond-esque flick.

Should you wish to nitpick, you could moan that nothing in the upbeat quintet of tracks is as exhilaratingly brash as Come On If You Dare from her last record.

That said, A-Mei is unmistakeably at the top of her game and the confidence shows in her delivery throughout. Your loss, if you’re not watching – and listening, to – her.

(ST)