Journey To The West
Khalil Fong
It All Started From An Intro
William Wei
Hong Kong-based singer Khalil Fong raps on Wu Kong: “My master is a master of self/He taught me how to master myself.”
Whether he is referring to himself or the Monkey King in the Chinese classic novel Journey To The West, the assertion is well earned.
Journey To The West is Fong’s first release under his own label Fu Music and he is pulling out all the stops.
His opus features an array of collaborators, from Beijing Mongolian folk-rockers Hanggai Band to South Korea’s R&B and hip-hop artists Crush and Zion.T, to London-based singer-songwriter Fifi Rong.
Their contributions spread over 20 tracks (21 if you include the bonus track demo of Wu Kong) on two discs, mostly in Mandarin with some in English, Korean and Mongolian.
Wu Kong, the opening number on the Black disc, starts off as a synth-rock number boasting about his prowess, name-checks actor Stephen Chow and singer Jay Chou in a Mandarin rap and ends with an English rap.
Remarkably, he makes it all sound so effortless and natural even as he is melding different elements and genres. The same is true of the album as a whole.
One of the best tracks is Listen, a song about the pleasures of music. It is seductive and irresistible.
Another thoughtful singer-songwriter with a new album is Taiwan’s William Wei, who will be performing at Shanghai Dolly on Saturday (tickets are sold out).
It All Started From An Intro wanders further away from the guitar-driven balladry he was known for, an artistic departure that had begun with his 2014 third record Journey Into The Night (2014).
Wei, who performs as Weibird, seems to acknowledge this when he sings on the opening track Intro: “This is the end, this is also the beginning.” The song’s structure eschews the standard pop template and goes from a ballad to electronica-tinged dance pop.
Another tune, One Shoe, with dramatic orchestral strings and piano and a backing choir, feels like it escaped from some stage musical.
But the album lacks focus with the inclusion of more radio-friendly tracks such as television drama theme songs Think Of You First and Play Games.
Nevertheless, there is still much to enjoy here, including the bonus tracks of well received recent works such as Deja Vu, which was easily the most poignant moment when it was performed in the Edward Lam play, What Is Sex? (2014).
(ST)
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Bad Santa 2
Mark Waters
The story: Willie (Billy Bob Thornton) is at a dead end in his life. When his former elf suit-wearing partner in crime Marcus (Tony Cox) turns up with a proposition for a job, he reluctantly goes along. How will Willie cope with the appearance of his hated mother Sunny (Kathy Bates) and the unquestioning loyalty of the one person who truly cares about him – the simple-minded Thurman Merman (Brett Kelly)?
All that Christmas cheer starting to get you down? Never fear – here is Bad Santa to the rescue.
In the 2003 film, Willie was a department store Saint Nick with a difference.
The persona was merely a cover for the professional thief to get into malls at night.
There were reportedly 300 profanities uttered over the course of that uproarious, no-holds-barred movie.
Forget milk and cookies – he would rather have a drink and adult activities.
In case it is not clear, do not bring your little ones to this new movie.
Fans will be relieved that Willie remains incorrigible in the sequel – there has been no attempt to make him over.
Mark Waters (Mean Girls, 2004), taking over directorial duty from Terry Zwigoff (Crumb, 1994), maintains the tone of a black comedy generously topped with much swearing and boozing.
Key members of the cast – an excellent Thornton, a hilarious Cox and a deadpan Kelly – return, but not Lauren Graham (TV’s Gilmore Girls), who had played Willie’s love interest. So he gets to ogle charity organisation exec Diane, played by Christina Hendricks.
Bates (Misery, 1990), playing Willie’s tattooed biker-chick mother, is a brilliant addition to the cast. Her entry shows why he has issues – after all, her term of endearment for him is “s**t stick”.
Just when one thinks the shock factor of a foul-mouthed Saint Nick (and his equally potty-mouthed mother) could wear off, there are still quite a few highlights here, including two Santas having a punch-up.
Despite everything, Willie is not a complete jerk and there is a tender moment or two to be found.
Still, if it is redemption and the warm fuzzies of a happy ending that you want, go watch It’s A Wonderful Life (1946).
(ST)
Mark Waters
The story: Willie (Billy Bob Thornton) is at a dead end in his life. When his former elf suit-wearing partner in crime Marcus (Tony Cox) turns up with a proposition for a job, he reluctantly goes along. How will Willie cope with the appearance of his hated mother Sunny (Kathy Bates) and the unquestioning loyalty of the one person who truly cares about him – the simple-minded Thurman Merman (Brett Kelly)?
All that Christmas cheer starting to get you down? Never fear – here is Bad Santa to the rescue.
In the 2003 film, Willie was a department store Saint Nick with a difference.
The persona was merely a cover for the professional thief to get into malls at night.
There were reportedly 300 profanities uttered over the course of that uproarious, no-holds-barred movie.
Forget milk and cookies – he would rather have a drink and adult activities.
In case it is not clear, do not bring your little ones to this new movie.
Fans will be relieved that Willie remains incorrigible in the sequel – there has been no attempt to make him over.
Mark Waters (Mean Girls, 2004), taking over directorial duty from Terry Zwigoff (Crumb, 1994), maintains the tone of a black comedy generously topped with much swearing and boozing.
Key members of the cast – an excellent Thornton, a hilarious Cox and a deadpan Kelly – return, but not Lauren Graham (TV’s Gilmore Girls), who had played Willie’s love interest. So he gets to ogle charity organisation exec Diane, played by Christina Hendricks.
Bates (Misery, 1990), playing Willie’s tattooed biker-chick mother, is a brilliant addition to the cast. Her entry shows why he has issues – after all, her term of endearment for him is “s**t stick”.
Just when one thinks the shock factor of a foul-mouthed Saint Nick (and his equally potty-mouthed mother) could wear off, there are still quite a few highlights here, including two Santas having a punch-up.
Despite everything, Willie is not a complete jerk and there is a tender moment or two to be found.
Still, if it is redemption and the warm fuzzies of a happy ending that you want, go watch It’s A Wonderful Life (1946).
(ST)
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
I Am Not Madame Bovary
Feng Xiaogang
The story: Li Xuelian (Fan Bingbing) goes to court over a fake divorce that turned real. The ruling goes against her and so she keeps escalating the case up the chain, aggravating officials every step of the way. She gets another grievance when her ex-husband calls her Pan Jinlian, the infamous adulterer of lore. Only her old classmate Zhao Datou (Guo Tao), who has always had a crush on Xuelian, is willing to help her. Based on the 2012 Chinese novel of the same name (literally, I Am Not Pan Jinlian) by Liu Zhenyun.
The shadow of another movie looms large over this one: Zhang Yimou’s The Story Of Qiu Ju (1992), where Gong Li played a peasant woman from rural China who travels from village to town to city to seek justice.
So, too, does Fan’s Xuelian doggedly pursue justice, without qualms haranguing any and every official she meets to get her case heard.
The international red carpet regular also goes the de-glamorising routine, speaking with a rural/provin- cial accent and going from va-va-voom to looking as plain and dowdy as a worn rug.
Unfortunately, the strong sense of deja vu does her no favours. In a diva-to-diva face-off, Gong comes across as the stronger actress.
Still, Fan is competent enough that she has nabbed a Golden Horse nomination for Best Actress, which is among the five prizes the film is up for later this month at the event. I Am Not Madame Bovary is also competing for Best Feature Film and Best Director for film-maker Feng Xiaogang.
The black comedy about incompetent government contains flashes of sly humour. Sycophants and fools abound, their names exposing them for what they are: court employee Jia Congming’s moniker is a homonym for “fake cleverness” in Mandarin, for example.
Feng plays with the framing of the film, going from a circular frame to a rectangular one and then to the more familiar widescreen format. Some of the scenes composed for the circular frame are as pretty as a picture, recalling traditional Chinese painting. Or it could be a reflection of the loop that Xuelian is stuck in, fighting on year after year to no avail.
At the same time, it also reminds one of a peephole, one that peers into the murky heart of Chinese bureaucracy.
(ST)
Feng Xiaogang
The story: Li Xuelian (Fan Bingbing) goes to court over a fake divorce that turned real. The ruling goes against her and so she keeps escalating the case up the chain, aggravating officials every step of the way. She gets another grievance when her ex-husband calls her Pan Jinlian, the infamous adulterer of lore. Only her old classmate Zhao Datou (Guo Tao), who has always had a crush on Xuelian, is willing to help her. Based on the 2012 Chinese novel of the same name (literally, I Am Not Pan Jinlian) by Liu Zhenyun.
The shadow of another movie looms large over this one: Zhang Yimou’s The Story Of Qiu Ju (1992), where Gong Li played a peasant woman from rural China who travels from village to town to city to seek justice.
So, too, does Fan’s Xuelian doggedly pursue justice, without qualms haranguing any and every official she meets to get her case heard.
The international red carpet regular also goes the de-glamorising routine, speaking with a rural/provin- cial accent and going from va-va-voom to looking as plain and dowdy as a worn rug.
Unfortunately, the strong sense of deja vu does her no favours. In a diva-to-diva face-off, Gong comes across as the stronger actress.
Still, Fan is competent enough that she has nabbed a Golden Horse nomination for Best Actress, which is among the five prizes the film is up for later this month at the event. I Am Not Madame Bovary is also competing for Best Feature Film and Best Director for film-maker Feng Xiaogang.
The black comedy about incompetent government contains flashes of sly humour. Sycophants and fools abound, their names exposing them for what they are: court employee Jia Congming’s moniker is a homonym for “fake cleverness” in Mandarin, for example.
Feng plays with the framing of the film, going from a circular frame to a rectangular one and then to the more familiar widescreen format. Some of the scenes composed for the circular frame are as pretty as a picture, recalling traditional Chinese painting. Or it could be a reflection of the loop that Xuelian is stuck in, fighting on year after year to no avail.
At the same time, it also reminds one of a peephole, one that peers into the murky heart of Chinese bureaucracy.
(ST)
Thursday, November 10, 2016
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
Lee Ang
The story: Specialist Billy Lynn (Joe Alwyn) rushes to the aid of sergeant Shroom (Vin Diesel) under a flurry of Iraqi fire and is hailed as a hero. Shipped back to America, he goes on a celebratory media tour with his Bravo squad mates, including the no-nonsense sergeant Dime (Garrett Hedlund). The tour ends with them taking part in an over-the-top half-time show at an American football game. Based on American novelist Ben Fountain’s 2012 novel of the same name.
Much of the buzz surrounding feted director Lee Ang’s new film is for its groundbreaking format of a high frame rate of 120 frames per second, 4K resolution and in 3D.
Unfortunately – or fortunately – audiences here will get to see only the regular version, which is in 2D and at 24 frames per second.
So its success boils down to the film itself, shorn of its high-tech coat.
There is much going on thematically, including an exploration of courage, the idea of patriotism and the tendency for the media to over-simplify things.
Billy remarks that he is being honoured for the worst day of his life, but no one seems to care. Indeed, he seems to be sucked into a situation in which almost everything is out of his hands. Up to the moment it happens, no one in Bravo squad knows what it is that they are supposed to be doing for the half-time show.
At the same time, this is also a meta-movie about the movie industry. Quick-talking Albert (Chris Tucker) is the guy trying to make a film deal for the Bravos and his comments often undermine what is happening in Billy Lynn the movie.
He says that “there’s always a girl” – and sure enough, there is a cheerleader, Faison (Makenzie Leigh), who catches Billy’s eye. And after a confrontation between Billy and the slick businessman Norm Oglesby (Steve Martin), Albert remarks that “that’s what we call a real movie moment”.
In other respects, Lee does not make it an easy watch by doing away almost completely with a music score until the very end. There are also too many close-ups, making the film feel static.
It is a pity because the issues examined here are pertinent, bolstered by a solid cast – newcomer Alwyn, soldiering on in the maelstrom of the celebrity machine; Kristen Stewart as his concerned sister; and Vin Diesel as a zenmaster-like sergeant.
Hedlund is a standout, making the cliched tough-on-the-outside- caring-underneath Dime totally believable.
While Billy Lynn does not quite come together compellingly, you cannot fault Lee for having an ambitious vision and trying his darnedest to realise it.
(ST)
Lee Ang
The story: Specialist Billy Lynn (Joe Alwyn) rushes to the aid of sergeant Shroom (Vin Diesel) under a flurry of Iraqi fire and is hailed as a hero. Shipped back to America, he goes on a celebratory media tour with his Bravo squad mates, including the no-nonsense sergeant Dime (Garrett Hedlund). The tour ends with them taking part in an over-the-top half-time show at an American football game. Based on American novelist Ben Fountain’s 2012 novel of the same name.
Much of the buzz surrounding feted director Lee Ang’s new film is for its groundbreaking format of a high frame rate of 120 frames per second, 4K resolution and in 3D.
Unfortunately – or fortunately – audiences here will get to see only the regular version, which is in 2D and at 24 frames per second.
So its success boils down to the film itself, shorn of its high-tech coat.
There is much going on thematically, including an exploration of courage, the idea of patriotism and the tendency for the media to over-simplify things.
Billy remarks that he is being honoured for the worst day of his life, but no one seems to care. Indeed, he seems to be sucked into a situation in which almost everything is out of his hands. Up to the moment it happens, no one in Bravo squad knows what it is that they are supposed to be doing for the half-time show.
At the same time, this is also a meta-movie about the movie industry. Quick-talking Albert (Chris Tucker) is the guy trying to make a film deal for the Bravos and his comments often undermine what is happening in Billy Lynn the movie.
He says that “there’s always a girl” – and sure enough, there is a cheerleader, Faison (Makenzie Leigh), who catches Billy’s eye. And after a confrontation between Billy and the slick businessman Norm Oglesby (Steve Martin), Albert remarks that “that’s what we call a real movie moment”.
In other respects, Lee does not make it an easy watch by doing away almost completely with a music score until the very end. There are also too many close-ups, making the film feel static.
It is a pity because the issues examined here are pertinent, bolstered by a solid cast – newcomer Alwyn, soldiering on in the maelstrom of the celebrity machine; Kristen Stewart as his concerned sister; and Vin Diesel as a zenmaster-like sergeant.
Hedlund is a standout, making the cliched tough-on-the-outside- caring-underneath Dime totally believable.
While Billy Lynn does not quite come together compellingly, you cannot fault Lee for having an ambitious vision and trying his darnedest to realise it.
(ST)
Wednesday, November 09, 2016
Death Note Light Up The New World
Shinsuke Sato
The story: If you write the name of a person while picturing his face into Death Note – a supernatural notebook – the person will drop dead. At the end of Death Note 2: The Last Name (2006), both Kira, who used a Death Note to execute his brand of justice, and L, the brilliant detective hunting him, had died. Ten years later, a rash of new Death Note murders takes place. Tracking down the notebooks are task force member Tsukuru Mishima (Masahiro Higashide) and Ryuzaki (Sosuke Ikematsu), an investigator who has inherited L’s DNA. Meanwhile, Kira appears in a computer virus video, raising doubts about his death. Based on the Death Note manga series by Tsugumi Ohba.
The crux of the Death Note movies has always been the battle of wits between Kira, originally an ordinary college student named Light Yagami, and L.
They were protagonist and antagonist, light and dark, villain and hero – although it was not always clear who was which.
After all, wasn’t Kira using his power for good by rooting out the unsavoury elements of society?
With Kira and L out of the way, this new instalment, to keep the story going, goes for the bigger and more complicated.
But it is less inclined to dwell on the philosophical conundrums presented by the existence of Death Notes.
There are now six such notebooks and it takes a while to account for who possess them.
Then there is the computer virus and the question of who is behind it, while suspicion is also cast on L’s successor Ryuzaki.
With so much story to get through, it is no wonder the film feels so busy.
Worse, without a clearly defined rivalry along the lines of Light versus L, Light Up The New World seems more scattered.
Still, one does get caught up in the story as it develops.
The twist at the end is quite a whopper and it leaves the door wide open for the next movie chapter.
For those who miss the Kira vs L dynamics, the American live-action remake of Death Note is out next year.
But given Hollywood’s track record with manga adaptations – um, Dragonball Evolution (2009) or Oldboy (2013) anyone? – an English-language Death Note could well be a tough sell.
(ST)
Shinsuke Sato
The story: If you write the name of a person while picturing his face into Death Note – a supernatural notebook – the person will drop dead. At the end of Death Note 2: The Last Name (2006), both Kira, who used a Death Note to execute his brand of justice, and L, the brilliant detective hunting him, had died. Ten years later, a rash of new Death Note murders takes place. Tracking down the notebooks are task force member Tsukuru Mishima (Masahiro Higashide) and Ryuzaki (Sosuke Ikematsu), an investigator who has inherited L’s DNA. Meanwhile, Kira appears in a computer virus video, raising doubts about his death. Based on the Death Note manga series by Tsugumi Ohba.
The crux of the Death Note movies has always been the battle of wits between Kira, originally an ordinary college student named Light Yagami, and L.
They were protagonist and antagonist, light and dark, villain and hero – although it was not always clear who was which.
After all, wasn’t Kira using his power for good by rooting out the unsavoury elements of society?
With Kira and L out of the way, this new instalment, to keep the story going, goes for the bigger and more complicated.
But it is less inclined to dwell on the philosophical conundrums presented by the existence of Death Notes.
There are now six such notebooks and it takes a while to account for who possess them.
Then there is the computer virus and the question of who is behind it, while suspicion is also cast on L’s successor Ryuzaki.
With so much story to get through, it is no wonder the film feels so busy.
Worse, without a clearly defined rivalry along the lines of Light versus L, Light Up The New World seems more scattered.
Still, one does get caught up in the story as it develops.
The twist at the end is quite a whopper and it leaves the door wide open for the next movie chapter.
For those who miss the Kira vs L dynamics, the American live-action remake of Death Note is out next year.
But given Hollywood’s track record with manga adaptations – um, Dragonball Evolution (2009) or Oldboy (2013) anyone? – an English-language Death Note could well be a tough sell.
(ST)
Wednesday, November 02, 2016
Your Name
Makoto Shinkai
The story: Taki (Ryunosuke Kamiki), a high-school boy living in Tokyo, has a crush on a senior colleague at an Italian restaurant where he works part-time. Mitsuha (Mone Kamishiraishi), a restless high-school girl living in rural Itomori, performs rituals for the family shrine. Their lives start to intersect in a mysterious way that confounds them and the people around them. Based on the 2016 novel of the same name by Makoto Shinkai.
It is easy to see why Your Name has been such a big hit in Japan – it has a compelling story told in an unusual way and the visuals are lovely.
As of Oct 23, it has been No. 1 on the Japanese box-office charts for nine weeks.
It is the first anime movie to earn more than 10 billion yen (S$132.6 million) that is not from the vaunted Studio Ghibli, whose acclaimed hits include Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989), Spirited Away (2001) and The Wind Rises (2013).
A product of CoMix Wave Films, an animation outfit whose credits include the well-received mecha romance Voices Of A Distant Star (2002), Your Name is one of those movies that work best the less you know about them.
There is a sense of dislocation when the film opens, with Taki and Mitsuha dogged by the feeling that they are searching for something or someone. Yet, the answer is just out of reach, like a dream that is forgotten the moment one awakes.
It is only 30 minutes in that the characters realise what is happening – at the same time that audiences find out. The question of why it is happening remains a mystery for a while longer.
Along the way, the movie deepens from a light-hearted high- school comedy into a kind of existential mystery that seems to be linked to the impending appearance of a comet.
There is humour, romance, excitement, poignancy and a gentle rumination on time through the Japanese tradition of braiding cords.
The animation is lovely, beautifully drawn and vividly coloured.
One needs only to look at the gorgeous autumn scene in which Mitsuha, along with her grandmother and younger sister, make their way through the woods – the trees ablaze in red, orange and yellow – to know that the competition is heating up for Studio Ghibli.
(ST)
Makoto Shinkai
The story: Taki (Ryunosuke Kamiki), a high-school boy living in Tokyo, has a crush on a senior colleague at an Italian restaurant where he works part-time. Mitsuha (Mone Kamishiraishi), a restless high-school girl living in rural Itomori, performs rituals for the family shrine. Their lives start to intersect in a mysterious way that confounds them and the people around them. Based on the 2016 novel of the same name by Makoto Shinkai.
It is easy to see why Your Name has been such a big hit in Japan – it has a compelling story told in an unusual way and the visuals are lovely.
As of Oct 23, it has been No. 1 on the Japanese box-office charts for nine weeks.
It is the first anime movie to earn more than 10 billion yen (S$132.6 million) that is not from the vaunted Studio Ghibli, whose acclaimed hits include Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989), Spirited Away (2001) and The Wind Rises (2013).
A product of CoMix Wave Films, an animation outfit whose credits include the well-received mecha romance Voices Of A Distant Star (2002), Your Name is one of those movies that work best the less you know about them.
There is a sense of dislocation when the film opens, with Taki and Mitsuha dogged by the feeling that they are searching for something or someone. Yet, the answer is just out of reach, like a dream that is forgotten the moment one awakes.
It is only 30 minutes in that the characters realise what is happening – at the same time that audiences find out. The question of why it is happening remains a mystery for a while longer.
Along the way, the movie deepens from a light-hearted high- school comedy into a kind of existential mystery that seems to be linked to the impending appearance of a comet.
There is humour, romance, excitement, poignancy and a gentle rumination on time through the Japanese tradition of braiding cords.
The animation is lovely, beautifully drawn and vividly coloured.
One needs only to look at the gorgeous autumn scene in which Mitsuha, along with her grandmother and younger sister, make their way through the woods – the trees ablaze in red, orange and yellow – to know that the competition is heating up for Studio Ghibli.
(ST)
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