Wish You Well
Rene Liu
“I think I’ll always be lonely, all my life, this lonely,” Taiwanese singer-actress Rene Liu once sang in the mournful ballad A Lifetime Of Loneliness.
She is now alone no more. She got married in 2011 and gave birth to a son in January this year.
While she still thinks about loneliness here, the circumstances have changed.
On the mid-tempo number I Dare To Be Lonely In Your Embrace, she sings: “Always comparing the benefits of being alone, of being together/Can’t remember how I used to share life’s joys and sorrows with myself.”
Liu is not a showy performer but there is an honesty and earnestness to her singing that has won her fans since her debut album in 1995.
Having found happiness, she wants everyone to be happy as well. Zhou Xun, Guey Lun-mei and Tang Wei join her in the title track, which is probably one of the most glamorous paeans to friendship ever.
(ST)
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Burnt
John Wells
The story: Adam Jones (Bradley Cooper) was once a cocky young chef in Paris until drugs did him in. Years later, he resurfaces in London and seeks redemption by going after that elusive third Michelin star by cooking at Tony’s (Daniel Bruhl) restaurant.
How things have changed for actor Bradley Cooper.
Ten years ago, he was starring in a sitcom called Kitchen Confidential (2005), playing a bad-boy chef who was once addicted to alcohol and drugs trying to make a comeback. It was cancelled after four episodes.
Now, he is an award-winning actor with critical and popular hits such as American Sniper (2014), in which his name appears above the title in the movie poster.
Which is why Burnt is such an odd choice for him. Why take on a familiar role that he had played before?
If this was some ill-conceived attempt to do over the past, well, it failed.
Kitchen Confidential was based on chef Anthony Bourdain’s best-selling book.
Even though Burnt is not beholden to a memoir, its chef is in the same mould – one with a fiery temper to go with the mercurial talent. The thing is, we have had this dish before.
It seems rather unbelievable as well that Jones would be so hostile to sous vide cooking one moment – “cooking in condoms” – and then capitulating the next, simply because Helene (Sienna Miller) says so.
Helene is supposedly a talented cook in her own right, but really, she seems to be there as an all-too-convenient love interest for Jones. At least she seems more integral to the plot than Emma Thompson’s cookie-cutter psychiatrist who dispenses bland advice.
There is an attempt to cook up some drama over the arrival of the mysterious Michelin inspectors, but there is no excitement over the predictable developments.
At least London’s vibrant multicultural food scene serves as a colourful backdrop and Daniel Bruhl (Rush, 2013) is quietly affecting as someone carrying a torch for Jones.
Not quite burnt then, but this dish could certainly do with greater depth and intensity of flavour.
(ST)
John Wells
The story: Adam Jones (Bradley Cooper) was once a cocky young chef in Paris until drugs did him in. Years later, he resurfaces in London and seeks redemption by going after that elusive third Michelin star by cooking at Tony’s (Daniel Bruhl) restaurant.
How things have changed for actor Bradley Cooper.
Ten years ago, he was starring in a sitcom called Kitchen Confidential (2005), playing a bad-boy chef who was once addicted to alcohol and drugs trying to make a comeback. It was cancelled after four episodes.
Now, he is an award-winning actor with critical and popular hits such as American Sniper (2014), in which his name appears above the title in the movie poster.
Which is why Burnt is such an odd choice for him. Why take on a familiar role that he had played before?
If this was some ill-conceived attempt to do over the past, well, it failed.
Kitchen Confidential was based on chef Anthony Bourdain’s best-selling book.
Even though Burnt is not beholden to a memoir, its chef is in the same mould – one with a fiery temper to go with the mercurial talent. The thing is, we have had this dish before.
It seems rather unbelievable as well that Jones would be so hostile to sous vide cooking one moment – “cooking in condoms” – and then capitulating the next, simply because Helene (Sienna Miller) says so.
Helene is supposedly a talented cook in her own right, but really, she seems to be there as an all-too-convenient love interest for Jones. At least she seems more integral to the plot than Emma Thompson’s cookie-cutter psychiatrist who dispenses bland advice.
There is an attempt to cook up some drama over the arrival of the mysterious Michelin inspectors, but there is no excitement over the predictable developments.
At least London’s vibrant multicultural food scene serves as a colourful backdrop and Daniel Bruhl (Rush, 2013) is quietly affecting as someone carrying a torch for Jones.
Not quite burnt then, but this dish could certainly do with greater depth and intensity of flavour.
(ST)
Baby Steps
Barney Cheng
The story: Danny (Barney Cheng) is gay and lives with his boyfriend Tate (Michael Adam Hamilton) in Los Angeles. His mother (Gua Ah-leh) who lives in Taipei is in denial about her son’s sexuality and desperately wants a grandchild. When Danny decides
to have a baby, they finally have something in common – until she realises he is planning to do so through surrogacy.
While the title is a reference to the desire of the characters to hear the pitter-patter of little feet, it is also about the baby steps that Danny’s mother takes as she gradually accepts her son and the modern family he is creating.
It is a role that borders on the overly familiar at first, but in the capable hands of veteran actress Gua Ah-leh (The Wedding Banquet, 1993), she becomes a more nuanced character whose emotional tug-of- war with her son feels entirely natural, underpinned as it is by love for her child.
Not for nothing has Gua won the Golden Horse Award four times and the Golden Bell Awards, for her television work, twice.
Barney Cheng acquits himself commendably as writer and director, drawing out the emotional drama between mother and son and also exploring the issue of surrogacy.
The process is a logistically challenging one – it takes the movie from a home for surrogate mothers in Mumbai to a fertility clinic in Bangkok, embracing ethnic diversity in the process, unlike too many Hollywood movies.
Cheng also captures the fact that it is an emotionally draining and complicated undertaking for everyone involved, including the surrogate.
And while it takes time to get there, the ending is a sweet and touching one in which love and acceptance eventually triumph.
Baby Steps may be a sequel in spirit to Lee Ang’s seminal gay- themed The Wedding Banquet, but it also stands on its own two feet.
Barney Cheng
The story: Danny (Barney Cheng) is gay and lives with his boyfriend Tate (Michael Adam Hamilton) in Los Angeles. His mother (Gua Ah-leh) who lives in Taipei is in denial about her son’s sexuality and desperately wants a grandchild. When Danny decides
to have a baby, they finally have something in common – until she realises he is planning to do so through surrogacy.
While the title is a reference to the desire of the characters to hear the pitter-patter of little feet, it is also about the baby steps that Danny’s mother takes as she gradually accepts her son and the modern family he is creating.
It is a role that borders on the overly familiar at first, but in the capable hands of veteran actress Gua Ah-leh (The Wedding Banquet, 1993), she becomes a more nuanced character whose emotional tug-of- war with her son feels entirely natural, underpinned as it is by love for her child.
Not for nothing has Gua won the Golden Horse Award four times and the Golden Bell Awards, for her television work, twice.
Barney Cheng acquits himself commendably as writer and director, drawing out the emotional drama between mother and son and also exploring the issue of surrogacy.
The process is a logistically challenging one – it takes the movie from a home for surrogate mothers in Mumbai to a fertility clinic in Bangkok, embracing ethnic diversity in the process, unlike too many Hollywood movies.
Cheng also captures the fact that it is an emotionally draining and complicated undertaking for everyone involved, including the surrogate.
And while it takes time to get there, the ending is a sweet and touching one in which love and acceptance eventually triumph.
Baby Steps may be a sequel in spirit to Lee Ang’s seminal gay- themed The Wedding Banquet, but it also stands on its own two feet.
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
I’m Promising
Fang Wu
The competition in the music scene sure is heating up.
Taiwan’s Fang Wu has had to take part in several singing contests – Asian Millionstar, Duets and Super Idol (two seasons) – before finally getting the chance to release her debut album, on which she had a hand in composing the music and writing the lyrics for all the songs.
Wu has a sweet and clear voice and there is plenty of room for her pipes to shine in the mostly mid-tempo numbers, even if the music occasionally veers towards the pedestrian, as on Breaking Point.
More satisfying are album closer Tomorrow Is Another Day and lead single Accumulated Loneliness, a delicately spare concoction on why people come together (“Because the sum of loneliness makes us rely on each other/Embrace each other’s wounds, even if we can’t have them”).
Lyrically, she draws inspiration from everyday events and objects around her.
The track Challenges uses gaming and levelling up as a metaphor for overcoming hurdles, while Seesaw is about the difficulty of finding that balance in life. She sings on Marathon Girl: “Lalalala/Run this marathon with me.”
Good to know that she plans to stick around for the long haul.
(ST)
Fang Wu
The competition in the music scene sure is heating up.
Taiwan’s Fang Wu has had to take part in several singing contests – Asian Millionstar, Duets and Super Idol (two seasons) – before finally getting the chance to release her debut album, on which she had a hand in composing the music and writing the lyrics for all the songs.
Wu has a sweet and clear voice and there is plenty of room for her pipes to shine in the mostly mid-tempo numbers, even if the music occasionally veers towards the pedestrian, as on Breaking Point.
More satisfying are album closer Tomorrow Is Another Day and lead single Accumulated Loneliness, a delicately spare concoction on why people come together (“Because the sum of loneliness makes us rely on each other/Embrace each other’s wounds, even if we can’t have them”).
Lyrically, she draws inspiration from everyday events and objects around her.
The track Challenges uses gaming and levelling up as a metaphor for overcoming hurdles, while Seesaw is about the difficulty of finding that balance in life. She sings on Marathon Girl: “Lalalala/Run this marathon with me.”
Good to know that she plans to stick around for the long haul.
(ST)
The resurgence of Taiwanese films at the box office continues with the winning youth romance Our Times.
It is the No. 1 domestic film of the year thus far with takings of NT$400 million (S$17.1 million). This puts it at No. 34 on the all-time list and in fifth position on the list of top-earning Taiwanese films.
This is a wave that started to rise with drama Cape No. 7 (2008) and shows no sign of breaking just yet. That modestly budgeted drama about a no-hope amateur band is the most successful local film in Taiwan, grossing NT$530 million.
Since then, films such as historical epic Seediq Bale (2011), comedy David Loman (2013) and youth romance You Are The Apple Of My Eye (2011) have been cleaning up at the box office on home ground.
The diverse genres of these films suggest that there is no easy formula to coming up with a hit.
It might seem obvious that tinkering with the school romance plot of You Are The Apple Of My Eye is a sure thing now that Our Times is a bona fide hit. But the fact is, even if one carefully lined up similar elements, lightning might not strike twice.
Before Our Times, Sung had starred in Cafe.Waiting.Love (2014), also a youthful romance mixing comedy and drama. Like You Are The Apple Of My Eye, it was based on a novel by the popular writer Giddens Ko and boasted an appealing cast. While it was by no means a flop, its takings of NT$260 million were substantially less than Apple’s NT$410 million.
A closer examination of the most successful films reveals some noteworthy trends.
On Chinese Wikipedia’s list of the 15 highest-grossing Taiwanese films, the oldest entry is Lee Ang’s erotic spy thriller Lust, Caution (2007) at No. 10 with NT$280 million earned. But it is primarily seen as an international co-production involving the United States and China as well.
Hence it is Cape No. 7 that is credited with kick-starting this heady new chapter in the Taiwanese film industry.
What was remarkable is that the film was neither helmed by any big names nor featured heralded stars. The feature debut of writer- director Wei Te-sheng, it had the leading actors Van Fan, better known for being a singer past the modest peak of his popularity, and Chie Tanaka, who had little prior acting experience.
With his follow-up film, Wei showed that Cape No. 7 was no fluke. The two-part Warriors Of The Rainbow: Seediq Bale (2011) featured a cast of unknown aborigine actors and earned more than NT$790 million. Its two instalments land at No. 2 and 7 on the list of top-grossing Taiwanese films.
It is the films that are making stars out of actors, from Kai Ko in You Are The Apple Of My Eye to Vivian Sung in Our Times (Ko won for Best New Actor, while Sung has been nominated for Best Actress at the Golden Horse Awards next month). This is very different from the modus operandi of Hollywood films in which A-list talent often drive opening weekends and are paid handsomely for doing so.
Instead, the most popular Taiwanese films of recent years are distinguished by strong stories, often with a strong Taiwanese identity.
The southern-most town of Hengchun was not just a setting in Cape No. 7, it was also an integral part of the movie with its gorgeous scenery and the never-say-die spirit of its denizens. The success of the movie even resulted in a tourism boom for Hengchun as fans flocked to filming locations.
Seediq Bale depicted an uprising of the Seediq people against colonial Japanese forces in Taiwan in 1930. Kano (2014, NT$330 million earned) was about a Taiwanese baseball team playing against the odds when the island was under Japanese rule.
Din Tao: Leader Of The Parade (2012, NT$317 million earned) offered a look at the traditional Taiwanese practice of performing at religious festivals. Monga (2010, NT$258 million earned) made Taiwanese gangsters cool and the title refers to a rough-and-tumble district in Taipei.
Beyond Beauty: Taiwan From Above (2013), the highest-grossing documentary in the territory with NT$220 million earned, was a labour of love on the environmental damage wrought on the island in the name of progress.
The diversity of the Taiwanese top earners is a heartening sign. Instead of trodding down familiar paths, film-makers would rather venture into new territory. And audiences are following right along. Maybe there is a lesson here for local film-makers.
(ST)
It is the No. 1 domestic film of the year thus far with takings of NT$400 million (S$17.1 million). This puts it at No. 34 on the all-time list and in fifth position on the list of top-earning Taiwanese films.
This is a wave that started to rise with drama Cape No. 7 (2008) and shows no sign of breaking just yet. That modestly budgeted drama about a no-hope amateur band is the most successful local film in Taiwan, grossing NT$530 million.
Since then, films such as historical epic Seediq Bale (2011), comedy David Loman (2013) and youth romance You Are The Apple Of My Eye (2011) have been cleaning up at the box office on home ground.
The diverse genres of these films suggest that there is no easy formula to coming up with a hit.
It might seem obvious that tinkering with the school romance plot of You Are The Apple Of My Eye is a sure thing now that Our Times is a bona fide hit. But the fact is, even if one carefully lined up similar elements, lightning might not strike twice.
Before Our Times, Sung had starred in Cafe.Waiting.Love (2014), also a youthful romance mixing comedy and drama. Like You Are The Apple Of My Eye, it was based on a novel by the popular writer Giddens Ko and boasted an appealing cast. While it was by no means a flop, its takings of NT$260 million were substantially less than Apple’s NT$410 million.
A closer examination of the most successful films reveals some noteworthy trends.
On Chinese Wikipedia’s list of the 15 highest-grossing Taiwanese films, the oldest entry is Lee Ang’s erotic spy thriller Lust, Caution (2007) at No. 10 with NT$280 million earned. But it is primarily seen as an international co-production involving the United States and China as well.
Hence it is Cape No. 7 that is credited with kick-starting this heady new chapter in the Taiwanese film industry.
What was remarkable is that the film was neither helmed by any big names nor featured heralded stars. The feature debut of writer- director Wei Te-sheng, it had the leading actors Van Fan, better known for being a singer past the modest peak of his popularity, and Chie Tanaka, who had little prior acting experience.
With his follow-up film, Wei showed that Cape No. 7 was no fluke. The two-part Warriors Of The Rainbow: Seediq Bale (2011) featured a cast of unknown aborigine actors and earned more than NT$790 million. Its two instalments land at No. 2 and 7 on the list of top-grossing Taiwanese films.
It is the films that are making stars out of actors, from Kai Ko in You Are The Apple Of My Eye to Vivian Sung in Our Times (Ko won for Best New Actor, while Sung has been nominated for Best Actress at the Golden Horse Awards next month). This is very different from the modus operandi of Hollywood films in which A-list talent often drive opening weekends and are paid handsomely for doing so.
Instead, the most popular Taiwanese films of recent years are distinguished by strong stories, often with a strong Taiwanese identity.
The southern-most town of Hengchun was not just a setting in Cape No. 7, it was also an integral part of the movie with its gorgeous scenery and the never-say-die spirit of its denizens. The success of the movie even resulted in a tourism boom for Hengchun as fans flocked to filming locations.
Seediq Bale depicted an uprising of the Seediq people against colonial Japanese forces in Taiwan in 1930. Kano (2014, NT$330 million earned) was about a Taiwanese baseball team playing against the odds when the island was under Japanese rule.
Din Tao: Leader Of The Parade (2012, NT$317 million earned) offered a look at the traditional Taiwanese practice of performing at religious festivals. Monga (2010, NT$258 million earned) made Taiwanese gangsters cool and the title refers to a rough-and-tumble district in Taipei.
Beyond Beauty: Taiwan From Above (2013), the highest-grossing documentary in the territory with NT$220 million earned, was a labour of love on the environmental damage wrought on the island in the name of progress.
The diversity of the Taiwanese top earners is a heartening sign. Instead of trodding down familiar paths, film-makers would rather venture into new territory. And audiences are following right along. Maybe there is a lesson here for local film-makers.
(ST)
Our Times
Frankie Chen
The story: Truly (Vivian Sung) is a Plain Jane high school student who has to do the bidding of troublemaker Hsu Tai-yu (Darren Wang). They eventually become friends and she helps him woo the popular Minmin (Dewi Chien), while he nudges her in the direction of dreamy basketball player Ouyang Extraordinary (Dino Lee).
Think of this as the 2011 hit You Are The Apple Of My Eye, seen from the perspective of a girl.
In the feature directorial debut of Frankie Chen, the protagonist is now a female student and events unfold from Truly’s perspective, whereas You Are The Apple Of My Eye’s point of view was that of Kai Ko’s mischievous character, Ko Ching-teng.
But both movies revolve around young love set in a high school, feature an appealing fresh-faced cast, and found favour at the box office.
Our Times is the highest-grossing Taiwanese film on home ground thus far this year, with takings of NT$400million (S$17.1 million).
So what if Our Times does not reinvent the wheel? Sometimes, you just need to execute well what is tried-and-tested.
Indeed, Our Times is very much aware that it is tapping into an evergreen set-up. The characters are introduced as the dreamboat every school has, the bad boy that is always present and the school belle every boy dreams of dating.
As for the lead character, at 18, Truly is awkward and clumsy, but not to worry, she gets to have her makeover moment. Sung
(Cafe. Waiting. Love, 2014) makes her real and likeable, from her Andy Lau crush to her innate decency as a person.
Just as You Are The Apple Of My Eye turned Ko into a star, Our Times is model-actor Wang’s moment. He gets to be the tall and handsome (as described by Truly when cornered) bad boy whose defiant antics hide a painful past.
What starts out as a reluctant association between Truly and Hsu turns into a deeper friendship and their feelings are tested when they have to cheer each other on for someone else. Well, the device worked in Some Kind Of Wonderful (1987) and it still works here as the characters find themselves tongue-tied in the face of their true feelings.
The film stumbles a little at the end, though, with a distracting high-profile cameo and different actors playing the grown-up characters, as it takes viewers out of a carefully constructed world that is funny, charming and moving in its exploration of first love, heartache and friendship.
(ST)
Frankie Chen
The story: Truly (Vivian Sung) is a Plain Jane high school student who has to do the bidding of troublemaker Hsu Tai-yu (Darren Wang). They eventually become friends and she helps him woo the popular Minmin (Dewi Chien), while he nudges her in the direction of dreamy basketball player Ouyang Extraordinary (Dino Lee).
Think of this as the 2011 hit You Are The Apple Of My Eye, seen from the perspective of a girl.
In the feature directorial debut of Frankie Chen, the protagonist is now a female student and events unfold from Truly’s perspective, whereas You Are The Apple Of My Eye’s point of view was that of Kai Ko’s mischievous character, Ko Ching-teng.
But both movies revolve around young love set in a high school, feature an appealing fresh-faced cast, and found favour at the box office.
Our Times is the highest-grossing Taiwanese film on home ground thus far this year, with takings of NT$400million (S$17.1 million).
So what if Our Times does not reinvent the wheel? Sometimes, you just need to execute well what is tried-and-tested.
Indeed, Our Times is very much aware that it is tapping into an evergreen set-up. The characters are introduced as the dreamboat every school has, the bad boy that is always present and the school belle every boy dreams of dating.
As for the lead character, at 18, Truly is awkward and clumsy, but not to worry, she gets to have her makeover moment. Sung
(Cafe. Waiting. Love, 2014) makes her real and likeable, from her Andy Lau crush to her innate decency as a person.
Just as You Are The Apple Of My Eye turned Ko into a star, Our Times is model-actor Wang’s moment. He gets to be the tall and handsome (as described by Truly when cornered) bad boy whose defiant antics hide a painful past.
What starts out as a reluctant association between Truly and Hsu turns into a deeper friendship and their feelings are tested when they have to cheer each other on for someone else. Well, the device worked in Some Kind Of Wonderful (1987) and it still works here as the characters find themselves tongue-tied in the face of their true feelings.
The film stumbles a little at the end, though, with a distracting high-profile cameo and different actors playing the grown-up characters, as it takes viewers out of a carefully constructed world that is funny, charming and moving in its exploration of first love, heartache and friendship.
(ST)
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Papa I Want To Be A Star
WonFu
It is impossible to listen to Taiwanese band WonFu without a smile playing on your lips. Always full of sunshine and good cheer, their songs are just the ticket for these hazy times.
“If you dare to sing out loud, someone will listen/Use my voice to bring joy to people’s hearts,” they sing on the retro dance pop of the Minnan title track.
On I’m Shameless, they get a little cheeky, though it never gets more heated than PG territory: “The sunshine of summer makes you want to strip naked/A beer in one hand, an ice cream in the other.”
Since their last album WONderFU in 2013, there have been major life changes among the band’s members. Lead vocalist Hsiao Min and bassist Twiggy got hitched and are now the proud parents of a baby daughter.
The lullaby Cuckoo is dedicated to the little one, as Hsiao Min coos to her: “Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t wrinkle your skin/Cradle you in my arms and rock you gently.”
The arrival of a baby seems to have triggered greater introspection as well.
After the band coast through surf rock, bossa nova and funk, On And On finds them in a contemplative mid-tempo mood. Life is a giant central station and there are comings and goings, missed stops and slow trains. Through it all, “family always gives me strength” and it ends the album on a heartwarming note.
(ST)
WonFu
It is impossible to listen to Taiwanese band WonFu without a smile playing on your lips. Always full of sunshine and good cheer, their songs are just the ticket for these hazy times.
“If you dare to sing out loud, someone will listen/Use my voice to bring joy to people’s hearts,” they sing on the retro dance pop of the Minnan title track.
On I’m Shameless, they get a little cheeky, though it never gets more heated than PG territory: “The sunshine of summer makes you want to strip naked/A beer in one hand, an ice cream in the other.”
Since their last album WONderFU in 2013, there have been major life changes among the band’s members. Lead vocalist Hsiao Min and bassist Twiggy got hitched and are now the proud parents of a baby daughter.
The lullaby Cuckoo is dedicated to the little one, as Hsiao Min coos to her: “Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t wrinkle your skin/Cradle you in my arms and rock you gently.”
The arrival of a baby seems to have triggered greater introspection as well.
After the band coast through surf rock, bossa nova and funk, On And On finds them in a contemplative mid-tempo mood. Life is a giant central station and there are comings and goings, missed stops and slow trains. Through it all, “family always gives me strength” and it ends the album on a heartwarming note.
(ST)
Why? Art
Yen-j
Less than two months after the release of his fifth album Thanks Giving, Taiwanese singer-songwriter Yen-j released his sixth, Why? Art.
Despite the worryingly short time between the two, the new work is no slapdash effort.
It is touted as the more experimental counterpart to the more mainstream Thanks Giving, but to fans of his first album, it is the follow-up they have been waiting for.
Kaohsiung-born, Los Angeles-bred Yen-j burst onto the scene at 22 with the fresh sounds of Thank You For Your Greatness in 2010, pulling off the rare feat of sounding different from the rest of the Mandopop scene.
He made Mandojazzpop sound like the most natural idea in the music book and even sampled the jazz standard Take The A Train on the playful Love Is Curry.
But, on subsequent albums, he moved towards the middle of the road with more radio-friendly offerings such as Good Things and Good Lover.
With Why? Art, he is once again invigorated and inspired as he draws on jazz, electronica and pop.
He samples the legendary Miles Davis’ recording of On Green Dolphin Street on the synthpop-rap track On Idealism Street.
Yen-j professes: “On idealism street/I don’t need a gold watch/Or jewellery/I don’t care for these/I only want some time to write/Music that’s never been done.”
It seems as close an admission as any that in the real world, he has to write music for a living as well. And he has had to put his ambitions on hold.
Finally, he gets to unleash his thoughts here.
There is anger on the scathing electro track Contemporary Art, he raps: “This is contemporary art, contemporary art/Nudity can be artistic/What about the music, man?”
His inventiveness is in full play on opener Ashtray with its use of repetition, rhymes and puns, echoing in vibe Thanks Giving’s humorous opening number Coin-Eating Tiger.
The lyrics are decidedly personal.
Whirlpool finds him in a confessional mood: “I work hard to improve/Occasionally I’ll backslide/Take it as a beautiful mistake.”
On Warrior, he reveals what motivates him: “This city/Doesn’t need to remember my name/Glory comes from accomplishing the impossible.”
On the languorously beguiling Traveller, he croons: “I linger before each beautiful landscape/Many unknown dreams await there.”
Over the course of a bracing and wonderfully varied album, Yen-j shows his listeners all manner of scenery and all of it is lovely.
Yen-j
Less than two months after the release of his fifth album Thanks Giving, Taiwanese singer-songwriter Yen-j released his sixth, Why? Art.
Despite the worryingly short time between the two, the new work is no slapdash effort.
It is touted as the more experimental counterpart to the more mainstream Thanks Giving, but to fans of his first album, it is the follow-up they have been waiting for.
Kaohsiung-born, Los Angeles-bred Yen-j burst onto the scene at 22 with the fresh sounds of Thank You For Your Greatness in 2010, pulling off the rare feat of sounding different from the rest of the Mandopop scene.
He made Mandojazzpop sound like the most natural idea in the music book and even sampled the jazz standard Take The A Train on the playful Love Is Curry.
But, on subsequent albums, he moved towards the middle of the road with more radio-friendly offerings such as Good Things and Good Lover.
With Why? Art, he is once again invigorated and inspired as he draws on jazz, electronica and pop.
He samples the legendary Miles Davis’ recording of On Green Dolphin Street on the synthpop-rap track On Idealism Street.
Yen-j professes: “On idealism street/I don’t need a gold watch/Or jewellery/I don’t care for these/I only want some time to write/Music that’s never been done.”
It seems as close an admission as any that in the real world, he has to write music for a living as well. And he has had to put his ambitions on hold.
Finally, he gets to unleash his thoughts here.
There is anger on the scathing electro track Contemporary Art, he raps: “This is contemporary art, contemporary art/Nudity can be artistic/What about the music, man?”
His inventiveness is in full play on opener Ashtray with its use of repetition, rhymes and puns, echoing in vibe Thanks Giving’s humorous opening number Coin-Eating Tiger.
The lyrics are decidedly personal.
Whirlpool finds him in a confessional mood: “I work hard to improve/Occasionally I’ll backslide/Take it as a beautiful mistake.”
On Warrior, he reveals what motivates him: “This city/Doesn’t need to remember my name/Glory comes from accomplishing the impossible.”
On the languorously beguiling Traveller, he croons: “I linger before each beautiful landscape/Many unknown dreams await there.”
Over the course of a bracing and wonderfully varied album, Yen-j shows his listeners all manner of scenery and all of it is lovely.
Wednesday, October 07, 2015
Happy Or Not
Wang Dawen
On his 2013 debut Mandarin album, American-born Taiwanese singer- songwriter Wang Dawen introduced himself with a cheery Hello.
Now, he wants to share his heart with listeners. “Happy or sad, the bitter experiences in life/I want to share them with you without reserve,” he sings on the opening track, You Already Know My Heart.
He gets emotional on Writer’s Block and laments over the gently despondent-sounding plucking of strings: “Wrapped in the scarf you gave to me/In the living room strumming the ukulele.”
However, the high-spirited Wang is still around on Cram School Sucks, which blows off studies in a light-hearted manner; Roller Coaster, a sweet ride through the first blush of romance; and Turbulence, which twirls over the bumpy patches of a relationship.
On this more varied and well-rounded album, Wang proves a talented enough songwriter to sprinkle little surprises in his compositions to keep you listening.
Lyrically, he has improved as well from the more straightforward offerings on his debut.
So, yes, this is a follow-up to be happy with.
(ST)
Wang Dawen
On his 2013 debut Mandarin album, American-born Taiwanese singer- songwriter Wang Dawen introduced himself with a cheery Hello.
Now, he wants to share his heart with listeners. “Happy or sad, the bitter experiences in life/I want to share them with you without reserve,” he sings on the opening track, You Already Know My Heart.
He gets emotional on Writer’s Block and laments over the gently despondent-sounding plucking of strings: “Wrapped in the scarf you gave to me/In the living room strumming the ukulele.”
However, the high-spirited Wang is still around on Cram School Sucks, which blows off studies in a light-hearted manner; Roller Coaster, a sweet ride through the first blush of romance; and Turbulence, which twirls over the bumpy patches of a relationship.
On this more varied and well-rounded album, Wang proves a talented enough songwriter to sprinkle little surprises in his compositions to keep you listening.
Lyrically, he has improved as well from the more straightforward offerings on his debut.
So, yes, this is a follow-up to be happy with.
(ST)
Hero 2015
Masayuki Suzuki
The story: A socialite is killed in a car accident in an alley behind the Neustria embassy in Japan. Prosecutor Kohei Kuryu (Takuya Kimura) and his paralegal Chika Asagi (Keiko Kitagawa) are assigned to the seemingly straightforward case, but are hampered by the regulations of diplomatic immunity and extraterritoriality. The death also attracts the attention of Maiko Amamiya (Takako Matsu), Kuryu’s former assistant and now a prosecutor in another district.
Hero 2015 is best enjoyed by those who are at least somewhat familiar with the other versions of this popular Japanese title.
It started as a highly rated television series in 2001, spawned a two-hour special in 2006, a film in 2007 and a second season last year. All of them star Kimura, who has managed to remain atop the Japanese entertainment industry since the mid-1990s, both as a member of the idol group Smap and as an actor.
Kuryu is someone who is extremely dogged in his pursuit of the truth and does not always play by the book.
Of course, this being a work of fiction, he dresses like a movie star, with stylish locks and an orange down jacket. It was also established in the first series that he was particularly susceptible to infomercials.
Little details such as these make their way into the movie, essentially for the fans.
The most important thing for fans, though, is without a doubt the reappearance of Amamiya.
Is there something more to the relationship between him and Amamiya? How much more? Complicating things is the presence of his new assistant, Asagi, who first appeared in the second series.
Kimura and Matsu undoubtedly have chemistry and were previously paired up in the classic romantic drama, Love Generation (1997).
Together, they generate sparks as well as laughs. The awkward conversation that results when they meet up for drinks with all their former colleagues is a hoot.
A pity then that the case itself is rather disappointing, especially considering that scriptwriter Yasuhi Fukuda was also responsible for the excellent murder mystery Suspect X (2008).
Mostly, the involvement of a fictitious foreign country is an opportunity for director Masayuki Suzuki (Hero, 2001) to make some blandly positive point about how even seemingly different cultures share common ground.
Regardless, the fans turned out for the film and made it No. 1 at the Japanese box office in its first two weekends in July. Which means that Kimura might not be hanging up his orange jacket just yet.
(ST)
Masayuki Suzuki
The story: A socialite is killed in a car accident in an alley behind the Neustria embassy in Japan. Prosecutor Kohei Kuryu (Takuya Kimura) and his paralegal Chika Asagi (Keiko Kitagawa) are assigned to the seemingly straightforward case, but are hampered by the regulations of diplomatic immunity and extraterritoriality. The death also attracts the attention of Maiko Amamiya (Takako Matsu), Kuryu’s former assistant and now a prosecutor in another district.
Hero 2015 is best enjoyed by those who are at least somewhat familiar with the other versions of this popular Japanese title.
It started as a highly rated television series in 2001, spawned a two-hour special in 2006, a film in 2007 and a second season last year. All of them star Kimura, who has managed to remain atop the Japanese entertainment industry since the mid-1990s, both as a member of the idol group Smap and as an actor.
Kuryu is someone who is extremely dogged in his pursuit of the truth and does not always play by the book.
Of course, this being a work of fiction, he dresses like a movie star, with stylish locks and an orange down jacket. It was also established in the first series that he was particularly susceptible to infomercials.
Little details such as these make their way into the movie, essentially for the fans.
The most important thing for fans, though, is without a doubt the reappearance of Amamiya.
Is there something more to the relationship between him and Amamiya? How much more? Complicating things is the presence of his new assistant, Asagi, who first appeared in the second series.
Kimura and Matsu undoubtedly have chemistry and were previously paired up in the classic romantic drama, Love Generation (1997).
Together, they generate sparks as well as laughs. The awkward conversation that results when they meet up for drinks with all their former colleagues is a hoot.
A pity then that the case itself is rather disappointing, especially considering that scriptwriter Yasuhi Fukuda was also responsible for the excellent murder mystery Suspect X (2008).
Mostly, the involvement of a fictitious foreign country is an opportunity for director Masayuki Suzuki (Hero, 2001) to make some blandly positive point about how even seemingly different cultures share common ground.
Regardless, the fans turned out for the film and made it No. 1 at the Japanese box office in its first two weekends in July. Which means that Kimura might not be hanging up his orange jacket just yet.
(ST)
Friday, October 02, 2015
Taiwanese auteur Hou Hsiao-hsien is the man to beat at this year’s Golden Horse
Awards. His period wuxia drama, The Assassin, has earned the most nominations –
11. They include nods for Best Feature Film, Best Director and Best Leading
Actress for Shu Qi in the title role. He was earlier named Best Director for the
film at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in May.
Hou, known for his realist and minimalist style, is also receiving the Outstanding Taiwanese Filmmaker of the Year accolade and his body of work includes the following feted titles.
A TIME TO LIVE, A TIME TO DIE (1985)
This was inspired by Hou’s own coming-of-age story and is part of a trilogy that includes A Summer At Grandpa’s (1984) and Dust In The Wind (1986). It is set during the years 1947 to 1965, spanning the protagonist’s childhood and college entrance exam, and the use of Hakka and Minnan in the movie was unusual. The film won several international awards, including the FIPRESCI Prize at the 1986 Berlin International Film Festival.
A CITY OF SADNESS (1989)
Widely regarded as Hou’s masterpiece, this historical drama starring Tony Leung Chiu Wai as a deaf-mute was the first Taiwanese film to win the prestigious Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. It was an act of courage to deal with the ruling Kuomintang government’s tyranny post-1945 and it was the first film to depict the anti-government uprising that was the 228 Incident of 1947.
THREE TIMES (2005)
Prior to the Assassin, Taiwanese actress Shu Qi had worked with Hou on Millennium Mambo (2001) and on Three Times. In Mambo, she plays Vicky, a bar hostess torn between two men. Here, Shu and actor Chang Chen, who is also in The Assassin, appear in three chronologically separate love stories. Three Times won for Best Taiwanese Film of the Year, Best Taiwanese Filmmaker and Best Actress at the Golden Horse Awards.
(ST)
Hou, known for his realist and minimalist style, is also receiving the Outstanding Taiwanese Filmmaker of the Year accolade and his body of work includes the following feted titles.
A TIME TO LIVE, A TIME TO DIE (1985)
This was inspired by Hou’s own coming-of-age story and is part of a trilogy that includes A Summer At Grandpa’s (1984) and Dust In The Wind (1986). It is set during the years 1947 to 1965, spanning the protagonist’s childhood and college entrance exam, and the use of Hakka and Minnan in the movie was unusual. The film won several international awards, including the FIPRESCI Prize at the 1986 Berlin International Film Festival.
A CITY OF SADNESS (1989)
Widely regarded as Hou’s masterpiece, this historical drama starring Tony Leung Chiu Wai as a deaf-mute was the first Taiwanese film to win the prestigious Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. It was an act of courage to deal with the ruling Kuomintang government’s tyranny post-1945 and it was the first film to depict the anti-government uprising that was the 228 Incident of 1947.
THREE TIMES (2005)
Prior to the Assassin, Taiwanese actress Shu Qi had worked with Hou on Millennium Mambo (2001) and on Three Times. In Mambo, she plays Vicky, a bar hostess torn between two men. Here, Shu and actor Chang Chen, who is also in The Assassin, appear in three chronologically separate love stories. Three Times won for Best Taiwanese Film of the Year, Best Taiwanese Filmmaker and Best Actress at the Golden Horse Awards.
(ST)
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