Wei Bird 2017 Concert
Resorts World Theatre/Last Saturday
The best encore is an unplanned one.
Nowadays, concerts are planned in detail, down to the last note an artist sings. But every once in a while, something surprising and magical happens – as it did at Taiwanese singer-songwriter Wei Li-an’s gig.
The two-hour-long set ended with a planned-for encore of the rousing track Girl and the hit ballad Still that had his fans on their feet and making a beeline for the stage. It left everyone on such a high that the cries of “encore” grew with renewed urgency.
Happily, Wei emerged with a guitar and proceeded to take requests for songs such as Still Loving You and Think Of You First before ending the evening with the delicate beauty of Cloudy Sunflower.
He ended up performing for another 20 minutes.
The singer, who is also known as Weibird or William, said: “I hope you’ve found your moment to take home with you. I’ve found mine.”
On disc, he comes across as a thoughtful young man sensitively probing matters of the heart in melodic songs that linger in the mind, including Have Or Have Not, Slowly Wait and Someone Is Waiting For Me.
Live, he is an affable presence whose pipes shine whether he is rocking out on a number such as Wolves or soaring in his falsetto range on early track Translation Exercise.
He seemed comfortable enough on stage that one would not guess that he was, in his own words, an introvert.
He mused: “If I weren’t a singer, I wouldn’t get to travel to so many places and meet so many people.”
In his more recent albums, Journey Into The Night (2014) and It All Started From An Intro (2016), he has begun to move away from ballads and R&B influences to more adventurous territory, such as venturing into electronica and experimenting with song structure.
But the focus of his Free That Girl tour, which started in 2015, is on his earlier material and mid-tempo hits. Perhaps his next show could show more facets of the talented songwriter.
Still, the concert was an enjoyable one. If anything, he deserved a bigger audience than the crowd of about 1,300.
In one segment, a visual of his room showing a guitar and a work table with a screen and speakers served as the backdrop to an unplugged selection of songs, such as The Fleeing Of A Two-Legged Bookcase and What You Think Of Me.
Judging from his fans’ reactions, there is no question that Weibird flies high in their eyes.
(ST)
Wednesday, October 11, 2017
Ajin: Demi-Human
Katsuyuki Motohiro
The story: After a traffic accident, hospital intern Kei Nagai (Takeru Satoh) realises that he belongs to an immortal race called Ajin. He is then whisked away by the government and subjected to all manner of experiments. Coming to his rescue is another Ajin, Sato (Go Ayano), who is prepared to destroy humanity to win rights for their kind. But Kei recoils from his violent means. Based on the manga (2012 to present) of the same name by Gamon Sakurai.
Faced with immortals amid society, the Japanese government reacts with fear and suspicion and subjects those it captures to a brutal battery of ordeals.
As a living test subject, Kei has a hellish existence – he is wrapped from head to toe like a mummy, his limbs get hacked off and he gets killed again and again. It is as though he were less than human.
Immortality becomes a curse for Kei.
There are questions here about humanity and mor(t)ality, but in the hands of director Katsuyuki Motohiro (Bayside Shakedown: The Movie, 1998), the movie also works as an exciting thriller in which Ajin is pitted against Ajin.
Satoh, as he did in period actioner Rurouni Kenshin (2012), plays a man reluctant to turn to violence, but is forced to; and Ayano (Lupin The 3rd, 2014) revels in Sato’s villainy.
The immortals are each able to project an entity outside of themselves – Kei calls his a “ghost” – which seems to have a mind of its own.
The special effects team does a good job of depicting these shadowy, not-quite-solid ghosts who are capable of inflicting very real damage.
Given that the Ajin can regenerate after death, how is one supposed to take another down? Kei comes up with a plan to trap Sato, but is blindsided by a detail he did not consider.
There are enough twists and turns to keep one engaged and the good news is that they feel organic to the fantasy world conjured up here.
(ST)
Katsuyuki Motohiro
The story: After a traffic accident, hospital intern Kei Nagai (Takeru Satoh) realises that he belongs to an immortal race called Ajin. He is then whisked away by the government and subjected to all manner of experiments. Coming to his rescue is another Ajin, Sato (Go Ayano), who is prepared to destroy humanity to win rights for their kind. But Kei recoils from his violent means. Based on the manga (2012 to present) of the same name by Gamon Sakurai.
Faced with immortals amid society, the Japanese government reacts with fear and suspicion and subjects those it captures to a brutal battery of ordeals.
As a living test subject, Kei has a hellish existence – he is wrapped from head to toe like a mummy, his limbs get hacked off and he gets killed again and again. It is as though he were less than human.
Immortality becomes a curse for Kei.
There are questions here about humanity and mor(t)ality, but in the hands of director Katsuyuki Motohiro (Bayside Shakedown: The Movie, 1998), the movie also works as an exciting thriller in which Ajin is pitted against Ajin.
Satoh, as he did in period actioner Rurouni Kenshin (2012), plays a man reluctant to turn to violence, but is forced to; and Ayano (Lupin The 3rd, 2014) revels in Sato’s villainy.
The immortals are each able to project an entity outside of themselves – Kei calls his a “ghost” – which seems to have a mind of its own.
The special effects team does a good job of depicting these shadowy, not-quite-solid ghosts who are capable of inflicting very real damage.
Given that the Ajin can regenerate after death, how is one supposed to take another down? Kei comes up with a plan to trap Sato, but is blindsided by a detail he did not consider.
There are enough twists and turns to keep one engaged and the good news is that they feel organic to the fantasy world conjured up here.
(ST)
Wednesday, October 04, 2017
On paper, animated series Neo Yokio sounds intriguing.
It was created by Ezra Koenig, frontman of indie rock band Vampire Weekend, with anime veteran Kazuhiro Furuhashi – director of the acclaimed period action series Rurouni Kenshin (1996 to 1998) – as storyboard artist. It boasts the voice talents of Jaden Smith, Jude Law, Susan Sarandon and Jason Schwartzman.
The show is set in an alternate New York where Magicians who once saved the city from demons are now firmly entrenched as elite Magistocrats and, score one for cultural diversity, the central character Kaz Kaan (voiced by Smith) is African-American.
So far, so promising.
And yet, I could not make it through the first episode.
This American-Japanese co-production blithely invites comparisons with Japanese works given the anime influences, which range from the demon-battling fantasy story to the use of mecha elements such as the robot butler (voiced by Law).
But it comes up far too short of its potential, not to mention its influences.
The first flaw one notices is the lacklustre animation, which makes the show look dated. It works for the opening sequence which is an old tourist promotion clip of the city, but inexplicably, the style does not change noticeably when the story shifts to the present.
Compared with the richly detailed animation of many Japanese series today, Neo Yokio’s artwork feels embarrassingly threadbare, like it was made in the 1990s. If it is meant to be an homage, it does not quite work.
Perhaps the biggest sin here is that the creators did not meld the Japanese and Western elements well.
A successful example would be the animated superhero film Big Hero 6 (2014), which is notably set in the imaginary, futuristic city of San Fransokyo (a conflation of San Francisco and Tokyo).
Its directors Chris Williams and Don Hall turned to the films of acclaimed auteur Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, 2001) for inspiration and even made two research trips to Japan. Yet the movie never feels clunky or showy with unnecessary detail.
Getting inspired and influenced by another culture is perfectly fine, but it is key to not force the issue. And if one can fashion a cohesive and compelling work out of myriad influences, it is surely a sign of brilliance.
Miyazaki himself absorbed Western ideas from European fantasy literature to modernist artist Marc Chagall. He reportedly once travelled to Portugal to look at a work by mediaeval painter Hieronymous Bosch, known for his macabre depictions of hell.
Yet there is no mistaking his vision as a film-maker for anyone else’s and he has, in turn, influenced Western animation. John Lasseter, chief creative officer of acclaimed Pixar Animation Studios, is a big fan of his and has even said: “Whenever we get stuck at Pixar or Disney, I put on a Miyazaki film sequence or two, just to get us inspired again.”
On the Rotten Tomatoes aggregator website, Neo Yokio has a “rotten” rating of 33 per cent from nine reviews. Hollywood Reporter asks reasonably: “(Why) resort to a so-so anime take-off when there’s ample real anime that’s cooler and funnier on its own?”
For instance, Rurouni Kenshin – about a battle-scarred assassin-turned-wandering-swordsman – juggles slapstick humour with deep philosophical questions about sin, guilt and forgiveness.
It is also true that there are several American animation series with distinctive voices such as Rick And Morty (2013 to present), a darkly funny and withering takedown of the wide range of human foibles as brilliant but self-absorbed scientist-inventor Rick and his grandson Morty go on outlandish adventures in the multiverse.
Presumably, Neo Yokio is good, even excellent, in some of these other universes. But in this world,
it is merely an awkward amalgamation of New York and Tokyo whose name does not even roll off the tongue smoothly.
(ST)
It was created by Ezra Koenig, frontman of indie rock band Vampire Weekend, with anime veteran Kazuhiro Furuhashi – director of the acclaimed period action series Rurouni Kenshin (1996 to 1998) – as storyboard artist. It boasts the voice talents of Jaden Smith, Jude Law, Susan Sarandon and Jason Schwartzman.
The show is set in an alternate New York where Magicians who once saved the city from demons are now firmly entrenched as elite Magistocrats and, score one for cultural diversity, the central character Kaz Kaan (voiced by Smith) is African-American.
So far, so promising.
And yet, I could not make it through the first episode.
This American-Japanese co-production blithely invites comparisons with Japanese works given the anime influences, which range from the demon-battling fantasy story to the use of mecha elements such as the robot butler (voiced by Law).
But it comes up far too short of its potential, not to mention its influences.
The first flaw one notices is the lacklustre animation, which makes the show look dated. It works for the opening sequence which is an old tourist promotion clip of the city, but inexplicably, the style does not change noticeably when the story shifts to the present.
Compared with the richly detailed animation of many Japanese series today, Neo Yokio’s artwork feels embarrassingly threadbare, like it was made in the 1990s. If it is meant to be an homage, it does not quite work.
Perhaps the biggest sin here is that the creators did not meld the Japanese and Western elements well.
A successful example would be the animated superhero film Big Hero 6 (2014), which is notably set in the imaginary, futuristic city of San Fransokyo (a conflation of San Francisco and Tokyo).
Its directors Chris Williams and Don Hall turned to the films of acclaimed auteur Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, 2001) for inspiration and even made two research trips to Japan. Yet the movie never feels clunky or showy with unnecessary detail.
Getting inspired and influenced by another culture is perfectly fine, but it is key to not force the issue. And if one can fashion a cohesive and compelling work out of myriad influences, it is surely a sign of brilliance.
Miyazaki himself absorbed Western ideas from European fantasy literature to modernist artist Marc Chagall. He reportedly once travelled to Portugal to look at a work by mediaeval painter Hieronymous Bosch, known for his macabre depictions of hell.
Yet there is no mistaking his vision as a film-maker for anyone else’s and he has, in turn, influenced Western animation. John Lasseter, chief creative officer of acclaimed Pixar Animation Studios, is a big fan of his and has even said: “Whenever we get stuck at Pixar or Disney, I put on a Miyazaki film sequence or two, just to get us inspired again.”
On the Rotten Tomatoes aggregator website, Neo Yokio has a “rotten” rating of 33 per cent from nine reviews. Hollywood Reporter asks reasonably: “(Why) resort to a so-so anime take-off when there’s ample real anime that’s cooler and funnier on its own?”
For instance, Rurouni Kenshin – about a battle-scarred assassin-turned-wandering-swordsman – juggles slapstick humour with deep philosophical questions about sin, guilt and forgiveness.
It is also true that there are several American animation series with distinctive voices such as Rick And Morty (2013 to present), a darkly funny and withering takedown of the wide range of human foibles as brilliant but self-absorbed scientist-inventor Rick and his grandson Morty go on outlandish adventures in the multiverse.
Presumably, Neo Yokio is good, even excellent, in some of these other universes. But in this world,
it is merely an awkward amalgamation of New York and Tokyo whose name does not even roll off the tongue smoothly.
(ST)
Chasing The Dragon
Wong Jing, Jason Kwan
The story: An illegal immigrant (Donnie Yen) who sneaks into Hong Kong in 1963 finds that he gets paid more to fight than to work. He soon rises through the ranks of the underworld because of his fighting skills to become the feared drug lord Crippled Ho. Detective sergeant Lui Lok (Andy Lau) enjoys a parallel ascent in these tumultuous times and the two men forge a partnership.
The selling point of this movie is the first-time collaboration between Hong Kong superstars Donnie Yen and Andy Lau. The bigger surprise is that king of B-grade movies Wong Jing has pulled off an entertaining epic crime flick.
Chasing The Dragon is a new take on the acclaimed crime drama To Be Number One (1991), in which Ray Lui played the real-life gangster Ng Sik Ho, or Crippled Ho. But instead of a slavish remake, the film-makers have smartly conflated it with the story of corrupt cop Lui Lok and used it as an opportunity to increase the star wattage.
Yen is credible as he goes from Teochew-speaking penniless immigrant to ruthless criminal despite being hampered by a limp. His character wants to keep his conscience clean, even as he sinks deeper and deeper into a life of crime. This means Yen gets to exercise both his acting chops and his chopsocky moves.
Lau, having previously played the same role in Lee Rock and Lee Rock II (both in 1991), is comfortable here as the slick cop looking out for himself.
But when put together, the two A-listers come up short in portraying the relationship of two men bound together by brotherhood, blood and money.
Good thing the story itself is engaging. It casts an eye on crime and justice in Hong Kong over a span of several decades, during which the Independent Commission Against Corruption, formed in 1974, turned out to be an agency with real bite, instead of a paper tiger.
The scenes here of the now-demolished Kowloon Walled City are fascinating. The infamously lawless slum has not been sanitised and as the camera winds its way through a maze of drug dens, gambling houses and street hawkers, planes fly absurdly low overhead, rubbish is strewn everywhere and danger lurks around every corner.
Perhaps credit for the film’s gritty authenticity is due to Wong’s co-director Jason Kwan, who makes his directorial debut here after winning praise for his work as a cinematographer on films such as crime thriller Cold War (2012) and romance comedy Love In A Puff (2010).
(ST)
Wong Jing, Jason Kwan
The story: An illegal immigrant (Donnie Yen) who sneaks into Hong Kong in 1963 finds that he gets paid more to fight than to work. He soon rises through the ranks of the underworld because of his fighting skills to become the feared drug lord Crippled Ho. Detective sergeant Lui Lok (Andy Lau) enjoys a parallel ascent in these tumultuous times and the two men forge a partnership.
The selling point of this movie is the first-time collaboration between Hong Kong superstars Donnie Yen and Andy Lau. The bigger surprise is that king of B-grade movies Wong Jing has pulled off an entertaining epic crime flick.
Chasing The Dragon is a new take on the acclaimed crime drama To Be Number One (1991), in which Ray Lui played the real-life gangster Ng Sik Ho, or Crippled Ho. But instead of a slavish remake, the film-makers have smartly conflated it with the story of corrupt cop Lui Lok and used it as an opportunity to increase the star wattage.
Yen is credible as he goes from Teochew-speaking penniless immigrant to ruthless criminal despite being hampered by a limp. His character wants to keep his conscience clean, even as he sinks deeper and deeper into a life of crime. This means Yen gets to exercise both his acting chops and his chopsocky moves.
Lau, having previously played the same role in Lee Rock and Lee Rock II (both in 1991), is comfortable here as the slick cop looking out for himself.
But when put together, the two A-listers come up short in portraying the relationship of two men bound together by brotherhood, blood and money.
Good thing the story itself is engaging. It casts an eye on crime and justice in Hong Kong over a span of several decades, during which the Independent Commission Against Corruption, formed in 1974, turned out to be an agency with real bite, instead of a paper tiger.
The scenes here of the now-demolished Kowloon Walled City are fascinating. The infamously lawless slum has not been sanitised and as the camera winds its way through a maze of drug dens, gambling houses and street hawkers, planes fly absurdly low overhead, rubbish is strewn everywhere and danger lurks around every corner.
Perhaps credit for the film’s gritty authenticity is due to Wong’s co-director Jason Kwan, who makes his directorial debut here after winning praise for his work as a cinematographer on films such as crime thriller Cold War (2012) and romance comedy Love In A Puff (2010).
(ST)
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