Cars 3
Brian Fee
The story: Champion racing car Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) and others of his generation are starting to lag behind technologically souped-up upstarts such as Jackson Storm (voiced by Armie Hammer). McQueen is assigned a coach, Cruz Ramirez (voiced by Cristela Alonzo), by his new owner and he has to win an upcoming major race – or be reduced to being a product endorsement figurehead.
The previous film, Cars 2 (2011), was a globetrotting affair that imagined cars as spies. Um, right.
The third instalment does away with that far-fetched conceit to focus on the more plausible storyline of talking, self-racing cars.
That right there is the problem.
Pixar has given us talking toys (Toy Story, 1995), talking animals (Finding Nemo, 2003) and even talking emotions (Inside Out, 2015). But talking cars remain the least persuasive creation in its oeuvre.
Cars 3 wants to be a stirring comeback tale of a champion who is not quite done yet, but it is hard to get revved up enough to care deeply for McQueen and the other vehicles.
It does not help that Wilson sounds too placid and laidback to voice a character who is a lightning- fast racer.
Also, McQueen might get upset that he is being overtaken by more powerful models, but that is exactly what you would expect with cars in the real world.
This is particularly so in Singapore, where embracing new and improved vehicles is the norm, given the certificate of entitlement system, where cars are often scrapped after 10 years or less.
There are a few fun moments, though, which prevent Cars 3 from being a movie for the scrap heap, such as when McQueen and his coach, Ramirez, inadvertently get roped into a demolition derby featuring a school bus on steroids.
It takes a while for McQueen to finally come to terms with his, er, mortality and realise that he can still play an important role.
The acceptance arrives in a too-tidy conclusion, which gives him his cake and lets him eat it too. That is, if cars could eat.
(ST)
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Death Note
Adam Wingard
The story: Seattle high-school student Light Turner (Nat Wolff) happens upon a copy of Death Note. Writing a person’s name in the supernatural notebook while picturing his face will result in his death. Light uses his newfound power by killing criminals around the world using the moniker Kira. He eventually attracts the attention of L (Lakeith Stanfield), an eccentric but brilliant detective who is determined to unmask Kira and bring him to justice.
As far as Hollywood remakes go, this version of Death Note will not leave you itching to scribble director Adam Wingard’s (Blair Witch, 2016) name into any tome.
It starts off hewing quite closely to the premise of the Japanese manga and 2006 live-action film of the same name, but with several tweaks along the way.
Light is in high school and at the mercy of bullies, making the idea of Death Note even more appealing.
The notebook is also a way for him to impress the cheerleader Mia (Margaret Qualley). “Please tell me this isn’t your poetry journal,” she quips, but soon becomes his eager accomplice.
The gore quotient has also been upped here. While most of the deaths in the earlier movie are by fuss-free heart attacks, Light comes up with bloody and gruesome ends for his victims here, including decapitation.
Veteran actor Willem Dafoe is well cast and proves to be both seductive and menacing as god of death Ryuk, by turns nudging his charge along and threatening him.
And in a nice bit of colour-blind casting, black actor Stanfield (Get Out, 2017) plays the role of L.
Where the remake really starts to come into its own is when the story takes a major deviation from its source material.
The battle of wits between Light and L becomes personal when Light manipulates someone close to L, making the stakes higher and more deeply felt.
The Japanese movie ended with a diabolical twist.
By throwing enough digressions into the remake, even those who watched the earlier version get to be surprised by the conclusion here.
(ST)
Adam Wingard
The story: Seattle high-school student Light Turner (Nat Wolff) happens upon a copy of Death Note. Writing a person’s name in the supernatural notebook while picturing his face will result in his death. Light uses his newfound power by killing criminals around the world using the moniker Kira. He eventually attracts the attention of L (Lakeith Stanfield), an eccentric but brilliant detective who is determined to unmask Kira and bring him to justice.
As far as Hollywood remakes go, this version of Death Note will not leave you itching to scribble director Adam Wingard’s (Blair Witch, 2016) name into any tome.
It starts off hewing quite closely to the premise of the Japanese manga and 2006 live-action film of the same name, but with several tweaks along the way.
Light is in high school and at the mercy of bullies, making the idea of Death Note even more appealing.
The notebook is also a way for him to impress the cheerleader Mia (Margaret Qualley). “Please tell me this isn’t your poetry journal,” she quips, but soon becomes his eager accomplice.
The gore quotient has also been upped here. While most of the deaths in the earlier movie are by fuss-free heart attacks, Light comes up with bloody and gruesome ends for his victims here, including decapitation.
Veteran actor Willem Dafoe is well cast and proves to be both seductive and menacing as god of death Ryuk, by turns nudging his charge along and threatening him.
And in a nice bit of colour-blind casting, black actor Stanfield (Get Out, 2017) plays the role of L.
Where the remake really starts to come into its own is when the story takes a major deviation from its source material.
The battle of wits between Light and L becomes personal when Light manipulates someone close to L, making the stakes higher and more deeply felt.
The Japanese movie ended with a diabolical twist.
By throwing enough digressions into the remake, even those who watched the earlier version get to be surprised by the conclusion here.
(ST)
The Adventurers
Stephen Fung
The story: Master thief Zhang (Andy Lau) is released from a French prison, where he landed after his last botched job of stealing the Eye Of The Forest, one-third of the priceless jewellery ensemble known as Gaia. With his long-time partner, Chen (Tony Yang), and a new recruit, Ye (Shu Qi), he goes after the person who betrayed him, even as detective Bissette (Jean Reno) is hot on his trail.
It is a pity the movie that Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau has returned to promote, after a horse-riding accident, is not a stronger offering.
His performance here as the thief Zhang is rather stilted, maybe because he is speaking in English and Mandarin, rather than his native Cantonese.
Neither is there much chemistry between him and Zhang Jingchu, who plays his wife, Amber, an art expert. At least Shu and Yang are mildly entertaining as they flirt and bicker as stock-character types – she the attractive femme fatale and he the earnest sidekick.
Director and co-writer Stephen Fung clearly had ambitions for a slick and stylish heist movie, but making something as buoyant as, say, Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s Eleven (2001) or even John Woo’s Once A Thief (1991) is harder than it looks.
Simply setting the action in Cannes and Prague is not enough when the dialogue gets pretty laughable. Bissette says to Zhang ominously at the beginning: “Just because you’re out of prison doesn’t mean you’re really free.”
And inexplicably, Bissette speaks to fellow French cops in English at one point, which just suggests lazy film-making.
Neither is there much of a surprise when the identity of Zhang’s betrayer is finally unveiled. The plot could definitely have been more adventurous.
(ST)
Stephen Fung
The story: Master thief Zhang (Andy Lau) is released from a French prison, where he landed after his last botched job of stealing the Eye Of The Forest, one-third of the priceless jewellery ensemble known as Gaia. With his long-time partner, Chen (Tony Yang), and a new recruit, Ye (Shu Qi), he goes after the person who betrayed him, even as detective Bissette (Jean Reno) is hot on his trail.
It is a pity the movie that Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau has returned to promote, after a horse-riding accident, is not a stronger offering.
His performance here as the thief Zhang is rather stilted, maybe because he is speaking in English and Mandarin, rather than his native Cantonese.
Neither is there much chemistry between him and Zhang Jingchu, who plays his wife, Amber, an art expert. At least Shu and Yang are mildly entertaining as they flirt and bicker as stock-character types – she the attractive femme fatale and he the earnest sidekick.
Director and co-writer Stephen Fung clearly had ambitions for a slick and stylish heist movie, but making something as buoyant as, say, Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s Eleven (2001) or even John Woo’s Once A Thief (1991) is harder than it looks.
Simply setting the action in Cannes and Prague is not enough when the dialogue gets pretty laughable. Bissette says to Zhang ominously at the beginning: “Just because you’re out of prison doesn’t mean you’re really free.”
And inexplicably, Bissette speaks to fellow French cops in English at one point, which just suggests lazy film-making.
Neither is there much of a surprise when the identity of Zhang’s betrayer is finally unveiled. The plot could definitely have been more adventurous.
(ST)
Wednesday, August 23, 2017
Evidence
Frande
Taiwanese band Frande’s third album offers more laidback, beguiling indie pop under the arch Chinese title of Why Does It Resemble A Love Story, I Was Clearly Reading A Detective Novel.
On their Facebook page, they describe their genre of music as “soft things but not that soft; crazy things but not that much”.
Over the unhurried beats on electro-pop opener All You Need To Do Is Love Me, female lead singer Fran’s voice glimmers as she protests lightly: “I haven’t even had time to love you/Why would I harm you”.
The band line-up also includes guitarist Chiang Chen-yu and drummer Wu Meng-yen.
Love is a tussle on I Hate You, I Love You as Fran and Taiwanese singer-rapper DJ Didilong circle each other: “Soon, I won’t be able to tell right from wrong/We’ve fought over this so many times.” But there is a solution to melting their cold war: “We just need an embrace.”
Love, in its different forms, is put under the magnifying glass here.
It can be sweetness and light, and on Until Death Do..., it is a powerful force as well: “Like to hear you say ‘I love you’/Drive away all grievances/ Together, with you together.”
Love is most tender on the lullaby-like My Darling Lamb, which is inspired by the ploy of counting sheep to battle insomnia (“Can’t sleep, I can’t sleep/Waiting for a ‘goodnight’ from you/Won’t tie, won’t tie you down/Want you to be free”). Instead of romantic love, it is about the love for a child as Fran sings: “Want to kiss your face at every age.”
(ST)
Frande
Taiwanese band Frande’s third album offers more laidback, beguiling indie pop under the arch Chinese title of Why Does It Resemble A Love Story, I Was Clearly Reading A Detective Novel.
On their Facebook page, they describe their genre of music as “soft things but not that soft; crazy things but not that much”.
Over the unhurried beats on electro-pop opener All You Need To Do Is Love Me, female lead singer Fran’s voice glimmers as she protests lightly: “I haven’t even had time to love you/Why would I harm you”.
The band line-up also includes guitarist Chiang Chen-yu and drummer Wu Meng-yen.
Love is a tussle on I Hate You, I Love You as Fran and Taiwanese singer-rapper DJ Didilong circle each other: “Soon, I won’t be able to tell right from wrong/We’ve fought over this so many times.” But there is a solution to melting their cold war: “We just need an embrace.”
Love, in its different forms, is put under the magnifying glass here.
It can be sweetness and light, and on Until Death Do..., it is a powerful force as well: “Like to hear you say ‘I love you’/Drive away all grievances/ Together, with you together.”
Love is most tender on the lullaby-like My Darling Lamb, which is inspired by the ploy of counting sheep to battle insomnia (“Can’t sleep, I can’t sleep/Waiting for a ‘goodnight’ from you/Won’t tie, won’t tie you down/Want you to be free”). Instead of romantic love, it is about the love for a child as Fran sings: “Want to kiss your face at every age.”
(ST)
Tokyo Ghoul
Kentaro Hagiwara
The story: Ghouls, indistinguishable from normal folk, roam Tokyo and feed on human flesh. Kaneki (Masataka Kubota) undergoes surgery after an attack and finds himself turning into a half-human, half-ghoul hybrid whose loyalties are torn between the two worlds. Based on the manga of the same name (2011-2014) by Sui Ishida .
Ghouls are monsters who feed on human flesh and must be exterminated at all costs. Or are they?
Like in Giddens Ko’s recent Mon Mon Mon Monsters, the humans here are capable of monstrous behaviour as well. But Kentaro Hagiwara’s dark and violent Tokyo Ghoul is more nuanced and layered in its indictment.
The viewers’ guide to the world of ghouls is the luckless Kaneki, a socially awkward young man who is inadvertently turned into a halfhuman, half-ghoul hybrid.
Kubota (Death Note television series, 2015) gives an intense performance as, at first, Kaneki desperately tries to satiate his hunger, but throws up everything he ingests, and then realises with horror that the whites of his left eye have turned a sinister red.
As he gets initiated into the mysteries of a hitherto unknown world, we tag along for the ride. His struggle to retain his humanity keeps us invested in the story.
One of the cool things about the manga, and the film, is the character design of the ghouls.
In their natural form, their power resides in all manner of fantastical appendages, such as tails and claws, called kagune, which differ from ghoul to ghoul. The face masks, which range from an innocuous rabbit to a ghoulish black leather veneer with a zipper over the mouth, feel like fan service detail.
Diving deeper into this community, Kaneki meets a shy girl ghoul, Hinami (Hiyori Sakurada), that he is protective of. This sets him on a collision course with the humans bent on wiping out the ghouls, Amon (Nobuyuki Suzuki) and Mado (Yo Oizumi).
It is a measure of how balanced the story-telling is that you do not know whom to root for when the humans battle the ghouls.
(ST)
Kentaro Hagiwara
The story: Ghouls, indistinguishable from normal folk, roam Tokyo and feed on human flesh. Kaneki (Masataka Kubota) undergoes surgery after an attack and finds himself turning into a half-human, half-ghoul hybrid whose loyalties are torn between the two worlds. Based on the manga of the same name (2011-2014) by Sui Ishida .
Ghouls are monsters who feed on human flesh and must be exterminated at all costs. Or are they?
Like in Giddens Ko’s recent Mon Mon Mon Monsters, the humans here are capable of monstrous behaviour as well. But Kentaro Hagiwara’s dark and violent Tokyo Ghoul is more nuanced and layered in its indictment.
The viewers’ guide to the world of ghouls is the luckless Kaneki, a socially awkward young man who is inadvertently turned into a halfhuman, half-ghoul hybrid.
Kubota (Death Note television series, 2015) gives an intense performance as, at first, Kaneki desperately tries to satiate his hunger, but throws up everything he ingests, and then realises with horror that the whites of his left eye have turned a sinister red.
As he gets initiated into the mysteries of a hitherto unknown world, we tag along for the ride. His struggle to retain his humanity keeps us invested in the story.
One of the cool things about the manga, and the film, is the character design of the ghouls.
In their natural form, their power resides in all manner of fantastical appendages, such as tails and claws, called kagune, which differ from ghoul to ghoul. The face masks, which range from an innocuous rabbit to a ghoulish black leather veneer with a zipper over the mouth, feel like fan service detail.
Diving deeper into this community, Kaneki meets a shy girl ghoul, Hinami (Hiyori Sakurada), that he is protective of. This sets him on a collision course with the humans bent on wiping out the ghouls, Amon (Nobuyuki Suzuki) and Mado (Yo Oizumi).
It is a measure of how balanced the story-telling is that you do not know whom to root for when the humans battle the ghouls.
(ST)
Wednesday, August 16, 2017
Pluto
Enno Cheng
The dreamy and spacey Recycling In The Universe is the perfect introduction to Taiwanese singer-songwriter Enno Cheng’s new album Pluto, the follow-up to her previous record Neptune (2011).
It is a slice of electro-pop that is vast and intimate as she croons in her lightly husky voice: “Float, float gently, let go of space, time and language/Close my eyes, I’ve come to you without any defences.”
Somehow, even a blackhole sounds innocuous: “Can’t see inside this black-coloured hole, it will swallow up everything, everything/La la la la la la la la.”
The other songs are easily approachable with their breezily melodic tunes, but the lyrics sometimes carry a sting.
She sings in English on the chorus for Golden Old Days: “Hey bastard, you know this is how we work/No matter how, no matter how, you’ll always be my love.”
Our Pop Song, a collaboration with Hong Kong’s Ellen Loo, appears to be a response to Recyling In The Universe at one point: “I’ve put down my edges and strengths, will you destroy me,” Cheng sings.
At the same time, she is not afraid of being seen as vulnerable. She is earnest and hopeful on Pride (“Trust me, although I’m as frightened as you, we can search for answers together”).
Cheng charts an idiosyncratic and imaginative musical journey, one that honestly embraces the contradictions and fragility of life.
(ST)
Enno Cheng
The dreamy and spacey Recycling In The Universe is the perfect introduction to Taiwanese singer-songwriter Enno Cheng’s new album Pluto, the follow-up to her previous record Neptune (2011).
It is a slice of electro-pop that is vast and intimate as she croons in her lightly husky voice: “Float, float gently, let go of space, time and language/Close my eyes, I’ve come to you without any defences.”
Somehow, even a blackhole sounds innocuous: “Can’t see inside this black-coloured hole, it will swallow up everything, everything/La la la la la la la la.”
The other songs are easily approachable with their breezily melodic tunes, but the lyrics sometimes carry a sting.
She sings in English on the chorus for Golden Old Days: “Hey bastard, you know this is how we work/No matter how, no matter how, you’ll always be my love.”
Our Pop Song, a collaboration with Hong Kong’s Ellen Loo, appears to be a response to Recyling In The Universe at one point: “I’ve put down my edges and strengths, will you destroy me,” Cheng sings.
At the same time, she is not afraid of being seen as vulnerable. She is earnest and hopeful on Pride (“Trust me, although I’m as frightened as you, we can search for answers together”).
Cheng charts an idiosyncratic and imaginative musical journey, one that honestly embraces the contradictions and fragility of life.
(ST)
The Battleship Island
Ryoo Seung Wan
The story: During World War II, the Japanese island of Hashima (also called Gunkanjima, or Battleship Island) was the site of a brutal mining operation that used forced labour, including boys from South Korea. South Korean women on the island faced the fate of being used as sex slaves. Bandmaster Lee Kang Ok (Hwang Jung Min) and his young daughter So Hee (Kim Su An), as well as notorious gangster Choi Chil Sung (So Ji Sub), are among those shipped off to it. Park Moo Young (Song Joong Ki), an American-trained operative, infiltrates the island to rescue a fellow independence fighter, but eventually tries to help about 400 Koreans escape.
There is more than one way to approach wartime movies, as the recent box-office successes of Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk and Ryoo Seung Wan’s The Battleship Island prove.
In South Korea, the latter has been setting records and had surpassed six million admissions by the 12th day of its run.
Nolan keeps ratcheting up the tension in his portrayal of the Sisyphean task of staying alive, but does not really flesh out those caught in the cross hairs of battle.
In contrast, writer-director Ryoo gives us a vivid cast of characters to root for in a thrilling tale of escape: Song plays the marquee role here like an extension of the super soldier-hero he played in the blockbuster series Descendants Of The Sun (2016); and the other K-drama star, So (Master’s Sun, 2013), swaggers with menacing aplomb as the macho gangster who plays a pivotal part in the escape attempt.
But it is the father-daughter pair, played by award-winning actor Hwang (Ode To My Father, 2014) and child star Kim (Train To Busan, 2016), who anchor Battleship.
Lee will do anything to keep himself and his daughter alive; this survival instinct drives him on, even if it means he has to clown around for the amusement of the Japanese.
The grimness of the war situation is leavened by some sweet little moments shared between the two characters. Both Hwang and Kim turn in vivid portrayals.
Story-wise, Ryoo packs some surprises along the way, which prevents the proceedings from getting too predictable. There is a poignant scene where a woman reveals that she was betrayed by her countryman – a Korean pimp who condemned her to her fate as a “comfort woman”.
The director also deftly handles the complex scenes depicting the hellishness of the underground mining and the intensity of the gripping finale.
While the escape is fictional, the island exists and was inscribed as a Unesco World Heritage site in 2015. At the end of the film, a coda notes that Japan has yet to acknowledge the events that took place there, a sombre reminder that the shadows and scars of war linger on today.
(ST)
Ryoo Seung Wan
The story: During World War II, the Japanese island of Hashima (also called Gunkanjima, or Battleship Island) was the site of a brutal mining operation that used forced labour, including boys from South Korea. South Korean women on the island faced the fate of being used as sex slaves. Bandmaster Lee Kang Ok (Hwang Jung Min) and his young daughter So Hee (Kim Su An), as well as notorious gangster Choi Chil Sung (So Ji Sub), are among those shipped off to it. Park Moo Young (Song Joong Ki), an American-trained operative, infiltrates the island to rescue a fellow independence fighter, but eventually tries to help about 400 Koreans escape.
There is more than one way to approach wartime movies, as the recent box-office successes of Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk and Ryoo Seung Wan’s The Battleship Island prove.
In South Korea, the latter has been setting records and had surpassed six million admissions by the 12th day of its run.
Nolan keeps ratcheting up the tension in his portrayal of the Sisyphean task of staying alive, but does not really flesh out those caught in the cross hairs of battle.
In contrast, writer-director Ryoo gives us a vivid cast of characters to root for in a thrilling tale of escape: Song plays the marquee role here like an extension of the super soldier-hero he played in the blockbuster series Descendants Of The Sun (2016); and the other K-drama star, So (Master’s Sun, 2013), swaggers with menacing aplomb as the macho gangster who plays a pivotal part in the escape attempt.
But it is the father-daughter pair, played by award-winning actor Hwang (Ode To My Father, 2014) and child star Kim (Train To Busan, 2016), who anchor Battleship.
Lee will do anything to keep himself and his daughter alive; this survival instinct drives him on, even if it means he has to clown around for the amusement of the Japanese.
The grimness of the war situation is leavened by some sweet little moments shared between the two characters. Both Hwang and Kim turn in vivid portrayals.
Story-wise, Ryoo packs some surprises along the way, which prevents the proceedings from getting too predictable. There is a poignant scene where a woman reveals that she was betrayed by her countryman – a Korean pimp who condemned her to her fate as a “comfort woman”.
The director also deftly handles the complex scenes depicting the hellishness of the underground mining and the intensity of the gripping finale.
While the escape is fictional, the island exists and was inscribed as a Unesco World Heritage site in 2015. At the end of the film, a coda notes that Japan has yet to acknowledge the events that took place there, a sombre reminder that the shadows and scars of war linger on today.
(ST)
Monday, August 14, 2017
G.E.M. “Queen Of Hearts” World Tour 2017 – Singapore
Singapore Indoor Stadium
Last Saturday
When Hong Kong-based singer- songwriter G.E.M. performed in Singapore in early 2015, she sold out three nights at the 5,000-seater Max Pavilion.
Naturally, a larger venue beckoned her for her return here and she proved that she could hold court at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Some 8,000 tickets were sold last Saturday, the first of two nights of her “Queen Of Hearts” World Tour.
The girl with the giant lungs filled the arena with her powerful singing as she belted out the high notes and held them with ease. It was what her fans expected and what shot her to fame on the China reality show competition I Am A Singer in 2014, where she emerged runner-up.
But as if showing that she is more than a one-trick pony, she also played the piano, strapped on a guitar for Goodbye and took to the drums in another segment.
Thankfully, the Queen Of Hearts show was not a mere retread of her previous X.X.X. tour as she released Heartbeat in late 2015, an album which spawned several hits, including the upbeat title track and the ballads One Way Road and Long Distance.
One of Saturday night’s highlights was the song Bubble from her third album Xposed (2012), which she actually performed on I Am A Singer. Dressed in a midnight-blue gown, she held onto a long piece of cloth which billowed up dramatically in the air. It was both beautiful and evanescent, echoing the imagery of the song.
Despite having released three studio albums of Cantonese and Mandarin pop tunes when she was on I Am A Singer, she became better known for singing other artists’ songs as that was the format of the contest. So it was no surprise that some of the most enthusiastic response at the Indoor Stadium was for the covers she performed on the TV show.
These included Mayday’s Behind The Mask, Wang Feng’s Survive, Jay Chou’s Tornado, David Huang’s Intoxicated and Beyond’s Loving You. After all, these were well- loved tracks even before she left her stamp on them.
As she will be turning 26 on Wednesday, some of her fans brought out a cake during the encore to celebrate the occasion on stage with their idol. One of them stole the show for a while as she dictated the proceedings by instructing the singer to make a wish.
Perhaps it was the audience who received the best present as G.E.M. performed the track Stranger In The North for the first time in public.
It seemed a bit strange as the song of choice for her final number of the night because it was not written by her and was originally performed by Taiwan-based Wang Leehom and Malaysian rapper Namewee. But as she rapped and sang and tickled the ivories, one could see her really getting into it and just enjoying the moment.
(ST)
Singapore Indoor Stadium
Last Saturday
When Hong Kong-based singer- songwriter G.E.M. performed in Singapore in early 2015, she sold out three nights at the 5,000-seater Max Pavilion.
Naturally, a larger venue beckoned her for her return here and she proved that she could hold court at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Some 8,000 tickets were sold last Saturday, the first of two nights of her “Queen Of Hearts” World Tour.
The girl with the giant lungs filled the arena with her powerful singing as she belted out the high notes and held them with ease. It was what her fans expected and what shot her to fame on the China reality show competition I Am A Singer in 2014, where she emerged runner-up.
But as if showing that she is more than a one-trick pony, she also played the piano, strapped on a guitar for Goodbye and took to the drums in another segment.
Thankfully, the Queen Of Hearts show was not a mere retread of her previous X.X.X. tour as she released Heartbeat in late 2015, an album which spawned several hits, including the upbeat title track and the ballads One Way Road and Long Distance.
One of Saturday night’s highlights was the song Bubble from her third album Xposed (2012), which she actually performed on I Am A Singer. Dressed in a midnight-blue gown, she held onto a long piece of cloth which billowed up dramatically in the air. It was both beautiful and evanescent, echoing the imagery of the song.
Despite having released three studio albums of Cantonese and Mandarin pop tunes when she was on I Am A Singer, she became better known for singing other artists’ songs as that was the format of the contest. So it was no surprise that some of the most enthusiastic response at the Indoor Stadium was for the covers she performed on the TV show.
These included Mayday’s Behind The Mask, Wang Feng’s Survive, Jay Chou’s Tornado, David Huang’s Intoxicated and Beyond’s Loving You. After all, these were well- loved tracks even before she left her stamp on them.
As she will be turning 26 on Wednesday, some of her fans brought out a cake during the encore to celebrate the occasion on stage with their idol. One of them stole the show for a while as she dictated the proceedings by instructing the singer to make a wish.
Perhaps it was the audience who received the best present as G.E.M. performed the track Stranger In The North for the first time in public.
It seemed a bit strange as the song of choice for her final number of the night because it was not written by her and was originally performed by Taiwan-based Wang Leehom and Malaysian rapper Namewee. But as she rapped and sang and tickled the ivories, one could see her really getting into it and just enjoying the moment.
(ST)
Wednesday, August 09, 2017
A Day
Cho Sun Ho
The story: Returning to Seoul after an overseas trip, doctor Kim Joon Young (Kim Myung Min) arranges to meet his headstrong young daughter Eun Jung (Jo Eun Hyung). On the way to the rendezvous, he witnesses a car accident and realises his daughter was killed in it. And then the day starts all over again for him.
The premise of a time loop has been used in films as diverse as romance comedy Groundhog Day (1993) and sci-fi military thriller Edge Of Tomorrow (2014).
South Korean director and co- writer Cho Sun Ho manages to put a fresh spin on it to deliver a tight and taut thriller elevated by philosophical shadings.
The key questions, as always, are: Why is the time loop happening? What needs to be changed in order for time to move on?
Actor Kim (Behind The White Tower, 2007) conveys the wrenching anguish of a father forced to relive his daughter’s death again and again and his increasing desperation as he tries to alter the course of events.
With each repetition, you keep your eyes peeled, wondering which detail will prove to be the key that unlocks the puzzle.
And then Cho drops a bombshell. Emergency services first responder Lee Min Chul (a completely unrecognisable Byun Yo Han from his role as an irritating intern in Misaeng, 2014) approaches the doctor to reveal that he is reliving the same day as well. This is in the trailer so it is not exactly a spoiler for audiences.
Gradually, the characters discover how they are linked to one another.
At one point, someone remarks that this is a version of hell, reliving a day of tragedy over and over again.
So how does one break the cycle of suffering and vengeance?
A Day is a satisfying thriller that turns out to be a rumination on Buddhist concepts of karma, rebirth and deliverance.
(ST)
Cho Sun Ho
The story: Returning to Seoul after an overseas trip, doctor Kim Joon Young (Kim Myung Min) arranges to meet his headstrong young daughter Eun Jung (Jo Eun Hyung). On the way to the rendezvous, he witnesses a car accident and realises his daughter was killed in it. And then the day starts all over again for him.
The premise of a time loop has been used in films as diverse as romance comedy Groundhog Day (1993) and sci-fi military thriller Edge Of Tomorrow (2014).
South Korean director and co- writer Cho Sun Ho manages to put a fresh spin on it to deliver a tight and taut thriller elevated by philosophical shadings.
The key questions, as always, are: Why is the time loop happening? What needs to be changed in order for time to move on?
Actor Kim (Behind The White Tower, 2007) conveys the wrenching anguish of a father forced to relive his daughter’s death again and again and his increasing desperation as he tries to alter the course of events.
With each repetition, you keep your eyes peeled, wondering which detail will prove to be the key that unlocks the puzzle.
And then Cho drops a bombshell. Emergency services first responder Lee Min Chul (a completely unrecognisable Byun Yo Han from his role as an irritating intern in Misaeng, 2014) approaches the doctor to reveal that he is reliving the same day as well. This is in the trailer so it is not exactly a spoiler for audiences.
Gradually, the characters discover how they are linked to one another.
At one point, someone remarks that this is a version of hell, reliving a day of tragedy over and over again.
So how does one break the cycle of suffering and vengeance?
A Day is a satisfying thriller that turns out to be a rumination on Buddhist concepts of karma, rebirth and deliverance.
(ST)
Wednesday, August 02, 2017
Gintama
Yuichi Fukuda
The story: The film is set in an alternate reality in which late Edo-era Japan has been conquered by aliens called Amanto (literally, sky people), who have outlawed the carrying of swords. The devil-may-care samurai Gintoki Sakata (Shun Oguri), nerdy Shinpachi Shimura (Masaki Suda) and teenage alien girl Kagura (Kanna Hashimoto) are drawn into hunting down a serial killer with a powerful sword – one which can possess the person who wields it. Based on the ongoing manga series of the same name by Hideaki Sorachi.
Gintama is a mash-up of both genre and tone, gleefully mixing elements of a period drama with science fiction and stirring in self-referential comedy along with more serious (melo)drama about resisting the enemy, the greed of man and even the tenuous bonds of childhood friendship.
One suspects the resulting concoction is more palatable in manga and anime form than as a live-action movie. Indeed, the manga that started in 2003 is still going strong, with two animated big-screen outings and several anime television series in its franchise.
This film adaptation does not take itself seriously, which is a good thing, but, on the other hand, it can come across as scattershot.
The randomness of a sidekick character inexplicably named Elizabeth, which looks like a simply sketched penguin, is better suited for the page and in animation. (But at least the movie openly acknowledges the fact that Elizabeth has to be a guy in a costume.)
Oguri as the uncouth man-child samurai who is constantly digging his nose and ear is mildly engaging, even if he sometimes comes across as being part of an elaborate cosplay session.
Maybe it is because the film is constantly winking at itself and indulging in meta shenanigans. There are multiple references to other manga/anime programmes, including the pirate-themed One Piece and the sci-fi fantasy Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind.
In the cheesy introductory sequence, the characters actually voice their concern about the need to draw in new viewers. It is a valid concern since this live-action adaptation of Gintama probably works best for those who are already fans.
(ST)
Yuichi Fukuda
The story: The film is set in an alternate reality in which late Edo-era Japan has been conquered by aliens called Amanto (literally, sky people), who have outlawed the carrying of swords. The devil-may-care samurai Gintoki Sakata (Shun Oguri), nerdy Shinpachi Shimura (Masaki Suda) and teenage alien girl Kagura (Kanna Hashimoto) are drawn into hunting down a serial killer with a powerful sword – one which can possess the person who wields it. Based on the ongoing manga series of the same name by Hideaki Sorachi.
Gintama is a mash-up of both genre and tone, gleefully mixing elements of a period drama with science fiction and stirring in self-referential comedy along with more serious (melo)drama about resisting the enemy, the greed of man and even the tenuous bonds of childhood friendship.
One suspects the resulting concoction is more palatable in manga and anime form than as a live-action movie. Indeed, the manga that started in 2003 is still going strong, with two animated big-screen outings and several anime television series in its franchise.
This film adaptation does not take itself seriously, which is a good thing, but, on the other hand, it can come across as scattershot.
The randomness of a sidekick character inexplicably named Elizabeth, which looks like a simply sketched penguin, is better suited for the page and in animation. (But at least the movie openly acknowledges the fact that Elizabeth has to be a guy in a costume.)
Oguri as the uncouth man-child samurai who is constantly digging his nose and ear is mildly engaging, even if he sometimes comes across as being part of an elaborate cosplay session.
Maybe it is because the film is constantly winking at itself and indulging in meta shenanigans. There are multiple references to other manga/anime programmes, including the pirate-themed One Piece and the sci-fi fantasy Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind.
In the cheesy introductory sequence, the characters actually voice their concern about the need to draw in new viewers. It is a valid concern since this live-action adaptation of Gintama probably works best for those who are already fans.
(ST)
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