Who Killed Cock Robin
Cheng Wei-hao
The story: Ambitious society reporter Chi (Kaiser Chuang) gets into an accident and finds out that his car was involved in another incident nine years ago – a fatal one that he had witnessed. As he digs deeper into that old case, he finds that many questions remain unanswered.
Taiwanese director Cheng Wei-hao (The Tag-Along, 2015) has a very dim view of human nature. Everyone is looking out only for himself or herself in this movie.
That can make for a darkly compelling study of morality and consequences. Too bad this is not that film.
It is too convenient how everyone and everything is so neatly connected here, from Chi’s mentor, newspaper editor Chiu (Christopher Lee), to his colleague Maggie (Hsu Wei-ning) and even the mechanic who repairs his car.
It does not help matters that director Cheng seems to be a fan of surprise revelations.
The effect of piling on twist upon twist is to have the viewer totally wrung out and exasperated by the end.
The more viewers learn about what happened nine years ago, the less things make sense, including why Chi would want to look into the cold case in the first place.
A needlessly gruesome scene thrown in for shock value in the finale serves to further sour the viewing experience.
(ST)
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Goodbye Mr Loser
Adrian Teh
The story: In the present day, struggling musician Yi Bai (Ian Fang) attends the wedding of his former high-school crush Xiao Wei. He ends up drunk and makes a fool of himself in front of his wife Ah Hua (Hoon Mei Sim) and their friends. He gets a chance to do things right when he is transported back to 1999 and finds a way to become rich and famous – but at a cost. Originally a hit 2015 Chinese comedy, which was based on a 2013 play of the same name.
This is a cut-rate version of youth comedy romance You Are The Apple Of My Eye (2011), one complete with ersatz celebrities. Though to be fair, they managed to get an impersonator who can pretty much pass off as a young A-mei.
For the most part though, this feels like a cheap knock-off that never quite passes off for the real thing. The jokes are of the lame and lamer variety and the story has a whiff of the familiar about it. Indeed, the Chinese film was accused of pilfering from the 1986 American movie Peggy Sue Got Married.
At least Mediacorp actor Fang acquits himself well enough. He is committed to his role, whether that means commanding attention in a classroom with his outrageous actions or donning dreadlocks as a professional singer.
Malaysian singer-actress Hoon is quite fun as the feisty Ah Hua, but really, there is little that is fresh or surprising about how Yi Bai’s relationship with her develops.
There is one cute idea here as having travelled back in time, Yi Bai realises that all the hit songs he knows have yet to be written in 1999, a fact that he uses to his advantage.
Director Adrian Teh (The Wedding Diary, 2012) also has something to say about cherishing one’s true love, but really, you could see where this was going right from the start.
(ST)
Adrian Teh
The story: In the present day, struggling musician Yi Bai (Ian Fang) attends the wedding of his former high-school crush Xiao Wei. He ends up drunk and makes a fool of himself in front of his wife Ah Hua (Hoon Mei Sim) and their friends. He gets a chance to do things right when he is transported back to 1999 and finds a way to become rich and famous – but at a cost. Originally a hit 2015 Chinese comedy, which was based on a 2013 play of the same name.
This is a cut-rate version of youth comedy romance You Are The Apple Of My Eye (2011), one complete with ersatz celebrities. Though to be fair, they managed to get an impersonator who can pretty much pass off as a young A-mei.
For the most part though, this feels like a cheap knock-off that never quite passes off for the real thing. The jokes are of the lame and lamer variety and the story has a whiff of the familiar about it. Indeed, the Chinese film was accused of pilfering from the 1986 American movie Peggy Sue Got Married.
At least Mediacorp actor Fang acquits himself well enough. He is committed to his role, whether that means commanding attention in a classroom with his outrageous actions or donning dreadlocks as a professional singer.
Malaysian singer-actress Hoon is quite fun as the feisty Ah Hua, but really, there is little that is fresh or surprising about how Yi Bai’s relationship with her develops.
There is one cute idea here as having travelled back in time, Yi Bai realises that all the hit songs he knows have yet to be written in 1999, a fact that he uses to his advantage.
Director Adrian Teh (The Wedding Diary, 2012) also has something to say about cherishing one’s true love, but really, you could see where this was going right from the start.
(ST)
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Vampire Cleanup Department
Yan Pak Wing and Chiu Sin Hang
The story: Tim (Babyjohn Choi) is an aimless young man whose life takes a strange turn after an unexpected encounter with a vampire. He escapes unscathed despite getting bitten and finds out about the existence of a secret government unit called the Vampire Cleanup Department. But when he meets the human-like vampire Summer (Min Chen), he decides to keep her safe from annihilation.
Vampires in the West are sexy and seductive in shows such as Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) and True Blood (2008-2014), but they are seen as either comic creatures (New Mr Vampire, 1987) or hideous ones (Rigor Mortis, 2013) in Asia.
This movie tries to have it both ways. The big baddie is an odious and immensely powerful creature while Summer is more like a cute amnesiac than an undead corpse with a mean bite.
Before long, Tim (a suitably earnest Choi) finds himself falling for a creature he is supposed to be exterminating.
While romance has been successfully worked into the likes of Buffy and True Blood, it feels like a distraction from the main event here – namely, the taking down of vampires.
A savvier tweak is imagining vampire-slaying as a government job which opens the door for jokes about bureaucracy and red-tape.
The department is thinly disguised as a cleaning squad complete with sweepers wielding brooms.
The idea sounds promising, but the execution feels a bit of a stretch, especially with the broom-sweeping moves used to take down vampires.
Unless there exists a variety of vampire which resembles litter on the ground, I am not convinced they would be of much use in actual combat.
Another point of interest here is the number of veterans in the cast. Fans of classic Hong Kong movies would be happy to see the likes of Chin Siu Ho, Richard Ng and Lo Mang in action.
(ST)
Yan Pak Wing and Chiu Sin Hang
The story: Tim (Babyjohn Choi) is an aimless young man whose life takes a strange turn after an unexpected encounter with a vampire. He escapes unscathed despite getting bitten and finds out about the existence of a secret government unit called the Vampire Cleanup Department. But when he meets the human-like vampire Summer (Min Chen), he decides to keep her safe from annihilation.
Vampires in the West are sexy and seductive in shows such as Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) and True Blood (2008-2014), but they are seen as either comic creatures (New Mr Vampire, 1987) or hideous ones (Rigor Mortis, 2013) in Asia.
This movie tries to have it both ways. The big baddie is an odious and immensely powerful creature while Summer is more like a cute amnesiac than an undead corpse with a mean bite.
Before long, Tim (a suitably earnest Choi) finds himself falling for a creature he is supposed to be exterminating.
While romance has been successfully worked into the likes of Buffy and True Blood, it feels like a distraction from the main event here – namely, the taking down of vampires.
A savvier tweak is imagining vampire-slaying as a government job which opens the door for jokes about bureaucracy and red-tape.
The department is thinly disguised as a cleaning squad complete with sweepers wielding brooms.
The idea sounds promising, but the execution feels a bit of a stretch, especially with the broom-sweeping moves used to take down vampires.
Unless there exists a variety of vampire which resembles litter on the ground, I am not convinced they would be of much use in actual combat.
Another point of interest here is the number of veterans in the cast. Fans of classic Hong Kong movies would be happy to see the likes of Chin Siu Ho, Richard Ng and Lo Mang in action.
(ST)
Beauty And The Beast
Bill Condon
The story: For plucking a rose for his daughter Belle (Emma Watson), Maurice (Kevin Kline) gets imprisoned in the Beast’s (Dan Stevens) castle. Belle asks to take her father’s place and finds that the castle is under an enchantment as the silverware and furniture come to life. What she does not know is that time is running out and the transformations of the castle’s residents – a one-time prince and his palace staff – are in danger of becoming permanent.
The 1991 version of Beauty And The Beast was the first animated film to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture and, in 2002, it was selected for preservation in the United States’ National Film Registry for its cultural significance. It was a major box-office hit with US$425 million in worldwide takings and is beloved by a generation of filmgoers.
In other words, this is a huge title to live up to and, despite the effort, this live-action remake never matches up to the original.
First, the good news.
Casting is one area in which this film fares quite well.
After her turn as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter wizarding films (2001-2011) and now this, Watson seems to have cornered the market on book-smart and feisty young women. And Stevens (Downton Abbey, 2010-2012) imbues the prince-turned-Beast with magnetism through his voice alone. Meanwhile, Luke Evans has fun as the vainglorious and boorish alphamale-about-town Gaston, who has his eye firmly fixed on Belle.
Some attempt has been made to tweak the problematic storyline of a female prisoner falling for a violent captor by making the Beast a tad more petulant than, well, beastly, and somewhat glossing over her loss of freedom. However, the fact remains that Belle is being held against her wishes.
The supposedly “openly gay” character controversy is just a distraction and, if not for the media coverage and threatened boycotts, you probably would have been none the wiser as to the sexual orientation of Gaston’s sidekick, LeFou (Josh Gad) .
And now we come to the musical numbers, a big reason for the success of the animated film.
Watson looks good and can carry a tune, but she cannot compare with the animated Belle, who looks and sounds like a dream, thanks to animators and the voice of Broadway actress Paige O’Hara.
Be Our Guest, the house-and-dinnerware version of the Under The Sea big ensemble number from The Little Mermaid (1989), is staged here with computer-generated imagery razzle dazzle that is meant to impress, but the animated sequence has greater charm.
Even for a minor role such as the playful young boy/teacup Chip, the animated version simply has more character.
At every turn, one is reminded of the superior 1991 film. It is hard to fully come to grips with this version, when one keeps flashing back to another movie.
Just because this is a tale as old as time does not mean it has to feel like deja vu watching it.
(ST)
Bill Condon
The story: For plucking a rose for his daughter Belle (Emma Watson), Maurice (Kevin Kline) gets imprisoned in the Beast’s (Dan Stevens) castle. Belle asks to take her father’s place and finds that the castle is under an enchantment as the silverware and furniture come to life. What she does not know is that time is running out and the transformations of the castle’s residents – a one-time prince and his palace staff – are in danger of becoming permanent.
The 1991 version of Beauty And The Beast was the first animated film to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture and, in 2002, it was selected for preservation in the United States’ National Film Registry for its cultural significance. It was a major box-office hit with US$425 million in worldwide takings and is beloved by a generation of filmgoers.
In other words, this is a huge title to live up to and, despite the effort, this live-action remake never matches up to the original.
First, the good news.
Casting is one area in which this film fares quite well.
After her turn as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter wizarding films (2001-2011) and now this, Watson seems to have cornered the market on book-smart and feisty young women. And Stevens (Downton Abbey, 2010-2012) imbues the prince-turned-Beast with magnetism through his voice alone. Meanwhile, Luke Evans has fun as the vainglorious and boorish alphamale-about-town Gaston, who has his eye firmly fixed on Belle.
Some attempt has been made to tweak the problematic storyline of a female prisoner falling for a violent captor by making the Beast a tad more petulant than, well, beastly, and somewhat glossing over her loss of freedom. However, the fact remains that Belle is being held against her wishes.
The supposedly “openly gay” character controversy is just a distraction and, if not for the media coverage and threatened boycotts, you probably would have been none the wiser as to the sexual orientation of Gaston’s sidekick, LeFou (Josh Gad) .
And now we come to the musical numbers, a big reason for the success of the animated film.
Watson looks good and can carry a tune, but she cannot compare with the animated Belle, who looks and sounds like a dream, thanks to animators and the voice of Broadway actress Paige O’Hara.
Be Our Guest, the house-and-dinnerware version of the Under The Sea big ensemble number from The Little Mermaid (1989), is staged here with computer-generated imagery razzle dazzle that is meant to impress, but the animated sequence has greater charm.
Even for a minor role such as the playful young boy/teacup Chip, the animated version simply has more character.
At every turn, one is reminded of the superior 1991 film. It is hard to fully come to grips with this version, when one keeps flashing back to another movie.
Just because this is a tale as old as time does not mean it has to feel like deja vu watching it.
(ST)
Wednesday, March 08, 2017
Songs Of Love
Phil Lam
Loveaholic Vol. 1
C AllStar
On Phil Lam’s sixth release, there is sweetness and tenderness on ballads such as The First Breakfast and on the chart-topping Romance. The Vancouver-born, Hong Kong-based crooner is equally persuasive in English on Missing You and All I Have Is You and in Mandarin on the upbeat Do You Know.
Definition Not Found gives a lexicographical spin on the theme of loss: “Can’t find the definition for love, you’ve been cruel of late/Can’t find the definition for love, you think I’m nothing.” Stop Breeding takes a dim view of our times: “This era forces us into extinction/As we kiss with so much dread.”
On their eighth release, C AllStar offer a varied look at love as well.
Professionally Heartbroken 30 Years is the ultimate sad sack love song: “Use yesterday to divine the future, still won’t be loved next year/Wanted by no one, cared for by no one, loved by no one.”
A different kettle of fish is the cheeky Bromance: “Waiting for orders in a crisis, spurring the horse to full speed, battling with bro through the night/The way men love, only men understand, sweetness comes from silence.”
It definitely casts wuxia films in a different light.
(ST)
Phil Lam
Loveaholic Vol. 1
C AllStar
On Phil Lam’s sixth release, there is sweetness and tenderness on ballads such as The First Breakfast and on the chart-topping Romance. The Vancouver-born, Hong Kong-based crooner is equally persuasive in English on Missing You and All I Have Is You and in Mandarin on the upbeat Do You Know.
Definition Not Found gives a lexicographical spin on the theme of loss: “Can’t find the definition for love, you’ve been cruel of late/Can’t find the definition for love, you think I’m nothing.” Stop Breeding takes a dim view of our times: “This era forces us into extinction/As we kiss with so much dread.”
On their eighth release, C AllStar offer a varied look at love as well.
Professionally Heartbroken 30 Years is the ultimate sad sack love song: “Use yesterday to divine the future, still won’t be loved next year/Wanted by no one, cared for by no one, loved by no one.”
A different kettle of fish is the cheeky Bromance: “Waiting for orders in a crisis, spurring the horse to full speed, battling with bro through the night/The way men love, only men understand, sweetness comes from silence.”
It definitely casts wuxia films in a different light.
(ST)
India has an image problem.
When I mentioned that I was going there for a holiday, the response was often, “Really?”, followed in the same breath by “Why?”, as though I had just announced that I was going on a dumpster-diving tour.
Part of it has to do with how the country has been portrayed in popular culture, from reality television game show The Amazing Race (2001 to present) to the movie Slumdog Millionaire (2008).
In a reminder of how powerful such images can be, a friend could recall the culture shock the participants felt in season 4 of The Amazing Race in 2003. They landed at Mumbai airport to an overwhelming reception of aggressive touts and later had to deal with the human crush of overcrowded Indian trains. At one point, someone was crying and exclaiming that it was all just too much to handle.
While it is exciting and exuberant, Slumdog Millionaire is also about the less savoury aspects of Indian society, such as street children getting blinded to become more effective beggars, and the deplorable conditions of slum dwelling. In one indelible scene, a child jumps into the communal toilet pit and emerges covered in human excrement.
In some of these depictions of India seen through foreign eyes, there has almost been a fetishisation of the worst aspects of its culture and society. A paper (A Content Analysis Of The Portrayal Of India In Films Produced In The West) published in The Howard Journal of Communications in 2005 makes the point that this is not new.
In a sample of 24 randomly selected films about the country produced from 1930 to 2000 in the United States or Britain, it was found that “India was consistently portrayed as backward, uncivilised, savage and traditional”.
It added that it was “common to find portrayals of dirty roads, dusty streets, unclean waters, overflowing sewers, marshy streets and spoilt food apart from the presence of garbage, depictions of noisy locales or overcrowded places (especially bazaars, trains and stations) in scenes depicting India”.
One way of getting a more balanced view of the sub-continent is to see how it depicts itself in Indian movies, from the fantasy of Bollywood musicals to the realist works of the late feted film-maker Satyajit Ray.
A more recent example would be The Lunchbox (2013), which serves up a portrait of modern India rooted in everyday life. As a housewife’s carefully prepared lunchbox makes its way to a lonely widower by mistake, via the feat of logistical wonder that is the food delivery system in Mumbai, director Ritesh Batra cooks up a moving tale about human connection and hope.
Another way is to travel to India and see the place for yourself.
There is far more to the sub-continent than can be contained in film and TV shows and even a short trip of five days proved to be eye-opening.
My itinerary packed in sprawling and beautifully decorated palace complexes in Jaipur, an impressive fortress and a massive mosque in Delhi, and that magnificent monument to love and fidelity, the Taj Mahal. Even with the guide playing up expectations, saying no one walks away disappointed, the sight of that sophisticated white-marbled feat of 17th-century architecture against the blue sky was spectacular.
Also, no small point, this – the food was delicious, with mouth-watering curries, tender tandoori meat and fish, fragrant naans and moreish snacks to devour.
Meanwhile, it is worth remembering not to gobble up everything one sees in cinemas and on TV just because it is served to us in a convenient little package.
(ST)
When I mentioned that I was going there for a holiday, the response was often, “Really?”, followed in the same breath by “Why?”, as though I had just announced that I was going on a dumpster-diving tour.
Part of it has to do with how the country has been portrayed in popular culture, from reality television game show The Amazing Race (2001 to present) to the movie Slumdog Millionaire (2008).
In a reminder of how powerful such images can be, a friend could recall the culture shock the participants felt in season 4 of The Amazing Race in 2003. They landed at Mumbai airport to an overwhelming reception of aggressive touts and later had to deal with the human crush of overcrowded Indian trains. At one point, someone was crying and exclaiming that it was all just too much to handle.
While it is exciting and exuberant, Slumdog Millionaire is also about the less savoury aspects of Indian society, such as street children getting blinded to become more effective beggars, and the deplorable conditions of slum dwelling. In one indelible scene, a child jumps into the communal toilet pit and emerges covered in human excrement.
In some of these depictions of India seen through foreign eyes, there has almost been a fetishisation of the worst aspects of its culture and society. A paper (A Content Analysis Of The Portrayal Of India In Films Produced In The West) published in The Howard Journal of Communications in 2005 makes the point that this is not new.
In a sample of 24 randomly selected films about the country produced from 1930 to 2000 in the United States or Britain, it was found that “India was consistently portrayed as backward, uncivilised, savage and traditional”.
It added that it was “common to find portrayals of dirty roads, dusty streets, unclean waters, overflowing sewers, marshy streets and spoilt food apart from the presence of garbage, depictions of noisy locales or overcrowded places (especially bazaars, trains and stations) in scenes depicting India”.
One way of getting a more balanced view of the sub-continent is to see how it depicts itself in Indian movies, from the fantasy of Bollywood musicals to the realist works of the late feted film-maker Satyajit Ray.
A more recent example would be The Lunchbox (2013), which serves up a portrait of modern India rooted in everyday life. As a housewife’s carefully prepared lunchbox makes its way to a lonely widower by mistake, via the feat of logistical wonder that is the food delivery system in Mumbai, director Ritesh Batra cooks up a moving tale about human connection and hope.
Another way is to travel to India and see the place for yourself.
There is far more to the sub-continent than can be contained in film and TV shows and even a short trip of five days proved to be eye-opening.
My itinerary packed in sprawling and beautifully decorated palace complexes in Jaipur, an impressive fortress and a massive mosque in Delhi, and that magnificent monument to love and fidelity, the Taj Mahal. Even with the guide playing up expectations, saying no one walks away disappointed, the sight of that sophisticated white-marbled feat of 17th-century architecture against the blue sky was spectacular.
Also, no small point, this – the food was delicious, with mouth-watering curries, tender tandoori meat and fish, fragrant naans and moreish snacks to devour.
Meanwhile, it is worth remembering not to gobble up everything one sees in cinemas and on TV just because it is served to us in a convenient little package.
(ST)
Wednesday, March 01, 2017
Sometimes The Great Yoga Sometimes Speaking In Tongues - Yoga Selects Live
Yoga Lin
Fans who missed Taiwanese singer Yoga Lin’s post-military service comeback gig at the Esplanade on Feb 3 will want to buy this release with a mouthful of a title. It is a collection of tunes from two of his tours, 2014’s Speaking In Tongues and the ongoing The Great Yoga.
Several are covers that were also performed in Singapore, including a loose-limbed take on British band Blur’s cheeky headbanger Song 2 and a persuasive version of singer-songwriter Sandee Chan’s Useless Umbrella.
There is also plenty of material here that would be new to those who were at the Esplanade concert.
He covers the late Chang Yu-sheng’s Missing You and singer-songwriter Cheer Chen’s Little Dust, leaving his distinctive personal stamp on each interpretation.
His own hits get new leases of life with different arrangements, such as the use of the vocoder to give Runaway Mama more of an electro- dance feel.
Another surprise here is the English track, Never Been In Love Before, better known as the title song off his third album, Perfect Life (2011).
One of the more compelling live albums in recent memory.
(ST)
Yoga Lin
Fans who missed Taiwanese singer Yoga Lin’s post-military service comeback gig at the Esplanade on Feb 3 will want to buy this release with a mouthful of a title. It is a collection of tunes from two of his tours, 2014’s Speaking In Tongues and the ongoing The Great Yoga.
Several are covers that were also performed in Singapore, including a loose-limbed take on British band Blur’s cheeky headbanger Song 2 and a persuasive version of singer-songwriter Sandee Chan’s Useless Umbrella.
There is also plenty of material here that would be new to those who were at the Esplanade concert.
He covers the late Chang Yu-sheng’s Missing You and singer-songwriter Cheer Chen’s Little Dust, leaving his distinctive personal stamp on each interpretation.
His own hits get new leases of life with different arrangements, such as the use of the vocoder to give Runaway Mama more of an electro- dance feel.
Another surprise here is the English track, Never Been In Love Before, better known as the title song off his third album, Perfect Life (2011).
One of the more compelling live albums in recent memory.
(ST)
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