tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56367202012-01-31T23:10:31.740-08:00the boondocksinorbitnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6471100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-27822132507643179582012-01-27T00:00:00.000-08:002012-01-27T00:01:54.525-08:00A Song To RememberVarious artistsSing It Out Of LoveTanya ChuaJust Say SoTanya ChuaLost N FoundJJ LinThe local music scene’s biggest names have recently released new works, including a welcome return by Mavis Hee. Apart from appearing occasionally to sing a song or two at concerts, she has been keeping a low profile after a public meltdown in a hotel in 2006.Her voice is still a richly soothing inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-37587054967913758792012-01-25T19:29:00.000-08:002012-01-25T19:29:00.386-08:00I Love Hong Kong 2012Chung Shu Kai, Chin Kwok WaiWhile last year’s I Love Hong Kong was an affectionate celebration of the ties that bind, this year’s follow-up is a more generic comedy with a mixed bag of jokes.Of the cast from last year, Stanley Fung, Bosco Wong and Eric Tsang are among the few who return. Tsang plays the eager-to-please husband of a shrewish lawyer (Teresa Mo). Her tomboyishinorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-46919058140482370572012-01-25T19:26:00.000-08:002012-01-25T19:26:00.844-08:00One For The MoneyJulie Anne RobinsonThe story: Broke and jobless Stephanie Plum (Katherine Heigl) turns to bail enforcement to pay the bills. Even though she knows nothing about being a bounty hunter, she sets her sights on Joe Morelli (Jason O’Mara), a former vice cop who is wanted for murder. Along the way, she gets help from Ranger (Daniel Sunjata) in learning the ropes of her new profession. inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-1942297546591045592012-01-25T19:18:00.000-08:002012-01-25T19:18:00.471-08:00Past performance is the best indicator of future results. This old human resources saying could well be applied to how movies fare at the box office.So before Life! peers into the murky depths of the crystal ball to pick the top-grossing films of 2012, it would be instructive to take a quick look at the box-office champs for last year.Film franchises overwhelmingly dominated the top 10 list with inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-45213231694006599702012-01-20T19:15:00.000-08:002012-01-24T19:16:56.036-08:00?Eason ChanThe Adventures Of Bernie The SchoolboyJoanna WangDream A New DreamSelina JenFar too often, Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s Mandarin releases have seemed like the poorer and less sophisticated cousins of his Cantonese albums.It is hence a pleasant surprise to find that the elegantly titled ? is his most cohesive Mandarin effort to date, one which holds up well in any language.There are inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-58534582384248015252012-01-18T00:23:00.001-08:002012-01-18T00:23:59.541-08:00Dance Dance DragonKat GohThe Chinese title Long Zhong Wu, which is a rough translation of the English title, is the homonym for the Hokkien phrase, which means everything is available.That, unfortunately, is what director Kat Goh and scribes Kelvin Tong and Marcus Chin try to do: overstuff this Dragon.There is the archetypal Hong Kong family comedy set-up: A spinsterish eldest daughter (Dennis inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-68927234149857085252012-01-18T00:22:00.001-08:002012-01-18T00:22:45.480-08:00The Viral FactorDante LamThe story: Police special agent Jon (Jay Chou) goes to Malaysia to track down his estranged father and elder brother. There, he gets entangled in a bio-terrorist plot involving the smallpox virus. Medical specialist Rachel (Lin Peng) is kidnapped for her expertise by none other than Yang (Nicholas Tse), Jon’s brother.The Viral Factor is not particularly festive in subjectinorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-83279351138145970432012-01-18T00:21:00.000-08:002012-01-18T00:22:06.206-08:00We Not NaughtyJack NeoThe story: Polytechnic students Weijie (Shawn Lee) and Jianren (Joshua Ang) are best friends who are sucked into the world of loansharks. New teacher CK (Daniel Chan) is determined to be there for them. However, he unwittingly helps the boys to create a remote-controlled flying machine, called Ah Long No. 2, for which the bad guys have more nefarious uses than just inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-90947596345573104522012-01-16T01:31:00.000-08:002012-01-17T01:32:06.890-08:00Jam Hsiao World Tour 2012Singapore Indoor StadiumLast SaturdayCan a human jukebox be a music star?Somewhat surprisingly, Taiwanese singer Jam Hsiao proves that the answer is yes.With three albums of original material released since he burst into fame in 2007 on the TV singing competition One Million Star, he could put together a show without covers.Yet, over the course of a three-hour concert, heinorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-67682216461888993942012-01-13T01:29:00.000-08:002012-01-17T01:31:20.356-08:00Magical ShopPeggy HsuJust The Way I AmGenie ChuoTaiwan’s Peggy Hsu and Genie Chuo both made their debuts in 2001. Both celebrated a decade in music last year, and both have come up with new releases to mark the milestone.It has been a sometimes rocky road for Hsu. The 30-year-old was mired in a contractual dispute for years, after her song Balloon (2001) flew out and became a hit, and it was not inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-39503529635794654862012-01-06T23:42:00.000-08:002012-01-08T23:42:51.510-08:00On The Way HomePenny Tai On her milestone 10th album, Malaysian singer-songwriter Penny Tai sounds refreshed and revitalised.She apparently wrote the songs while taking a break in the United States and there is a relaxed vibe to the material here.On the jangly opener On The Way Home, she has an epiphany: “On the way home, I realised I hate the bustle of the city/During these free-and-easy days, Iinorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-44983943584146657092011-12-30T23:38:00.000-08:002012-01-08T23:38:48.088-08:00Let's Not Fall In Love AgainNicholas TeoJust when you had Malaysian balladeer Nicholas Teo firmly pegged as a B-lister, he has you thinking again with the irresistible Let’s Not Fall In Love Again, one of the best karaoke-ready hits to come along in a while. Written by fellow Malaysian Zyan Chen, the number is tailor-made for Teo’s soothing emotive voice and a great comeback vehicle for him. He inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-47469066729087421882011-12-28T23:35:00.001-08:002012-01-08T23:36:35.013-08:00Flying Swords Of Dragon GateTsui HarkThe story: At the end of New Dragon Gate Inn (1992), which Hong Kong’s Tsui Hark produced and co-wrote, the infamous desert outpost of lawlessness was razed to the ground. Three years later, the new inn in its place is once again bustling as an array of characters with different motives and motivations gather there: A concubine (Mavis Fan) on the run from the inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-87364574602628838022011-12-25T23:33:00.000-08:002012-01-08T23:34:42.776-08:00Chinese GigsBest & Worst Faye Wong 2011 concert Singapore Indoor Stadium, Oct 29It has been a long wait for fans of the Chinese pop diva who left the music scene six years ago to get married and have children. True, she started off a little shaky and her voice was not quite as pristine as before, but she could still sing beautifully. The production was also top-notch, with seasonally themed inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-5661625138726745842011-12-25T23:31:00.000-08:002012-01-08T23:33:10.424-08:00Music: AsianBest & Worst Who is Hanjin Tan Hanjin Tan, BBS RecordsThe Hong Kong-based Singaporean singer-songwriter Hanjin Tan is not likely to remain unknown much longer with records such as this one.Here are compelling stories about his life and his philosophy of happiness, dressed up with insistent melodies, groovy beats and even joyous scatting. This is 100 per cent Tan’s vision as he inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-68370043419225428752011-12-25T23:30:00.000-08:002012-01-08T23:31:42.616-08:00Movies: AsianBest & WorstLet The Bullets FlyWriter-director-star Jiang Wen’s hugely entertaining take on classic spaghetti westerns was both a critical and box-office hit. Even if some of the dense symbolism went flying over one’s head, there was much to enjoy here from the top-notch performances from Jiang, Ge You and Chow Yun Fat to the exciting action sequences to the zip and zing of the inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-59596539454337185672011-12-23T23:29:00.000-08:002012-01-08T23:29:53.566-08:00Over The CloudChyi YuTaiwanese diva Chyi Yu’s timing has improved since her last English album The Voice. That semi-yuletide-themed offering came out in the unseasonal month of February, while Over The Cloud drifts by just in time for Christmas.Deadlines aside, the song selection here is stronger, though the disc could have done without Sarah McLachlan’s schmaltzy Angel.The Hank Williams-penned Iinorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-44799673597555430162011-12-21T19:04:00.000-08:002011-12-21T19:04:00.248-08:00We Bought A ZooCameron CroweThe story: Widower Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon) gets a fresh start by buying a new house – one with a rundown zoo attached. While trying to connect with his sullen teenage son and looking after his young daughter, he also has to get the animal park ready for its opening with the help of head zookeeper Kelly Foster (Scarlett Johansson). Based on the 2008 memoir by Benjamininorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-69323218714720206262011-12-21T19:03:00.000-08:002011-12-21T19:03:01.466-08:00Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of ShadowsGuy RitchieThe story: The brilliant detective Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr) is investigating a series of seemingly unrelated crimes. With Europe’s peace at stake, he has to figure out – and stop – the game plan of the shadowy Dr Moriarty (Jared Harris) with the help of his trusted sidekick Dr John Watson (Jude Law) and Sim, a gypsy fortune-teller (Noomi inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-18258911038914137152011-12-16T01:34:00.001-08:002011-12-16T01:34:52.530-08:00You Are The Apple Of My EyeVarious artistsBe YourselfKai Ko Chen-tungStill hankering for more after watching the Taiwanese youth drama You Are The Apple Of My Eye for the nth time?Replay favourite moments from the hit film in your head, with the help of its original soundtrack which comprises a hodgepodge of featured songs as well as instrumental tracks. Fans would also be happy with the inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-17374403188565801292011-12-09T23:52:00.000-08:002011-12-11T23:53:28.241-08:00Exclamation PointJay ChouSingers such as Mavis Fan started out doing children’s songs and then spent years trying to be taken seriously as artists. Meanwhile, Mandopop king Jay Chou has decided to move in the opposite direction. He has described his 11th release as being “more for the kids”. And from the nautical cartoon-inspired CD cover design to the music video for the title track which inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-71633807784270490072011-12-02T23:23:00.000-08:002011-12-05T23:24:33.926-08:00What Is Troubling YousodagreenListen. It is the first word sung here, an exhortation to pay careful attention to sodagreen’s eighth record.But fans of the Taiwanese indie band would already know to do so, as poetic and incisive lyrics are a feature of frontman Wu Ching-feng’s compositions.Opening track The Limits Of Happiness has him pondering: “Happiness won’t be like Newton, an apple turning inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-48967293835640596282011-11-30T22:40:00.000-08:002011-11-30T22:40:00.103-08:00RestlessGus Van SantRestless is a teen romance where the stakes are supposed to be heightened because of the spectre of death hanging over the characters but instead, it feels blanched of any meaningful drama. No mean feat considering Enoch (Henry Hopper) crashes strangers’ memorials, has a ghost kamikaze pilot Hiroshi (Ryo Kase) for a friend and falls for Annabel (Mia Wasikowska), who turns out inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-13868973395612603112011-11-30T22:39:00.000-08:002011-11-30T22:39:00.217-08:00Already FamousMichelle ChongMichelle Chong is one hilarious actress. We know that from the MediaCorp news spoof programme The Noose in which she fearlessly pulls off accents and switches personalities at the drop of a hat. Unfortunately, the writer-director-star is just stuck in one role here – as the starstruck Malaysian girl Ah Kiao who comes to Singapore in search of fame. The story is inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-37062747297369000802011-11-30T22:38:00.000-08:002011-11-30T22:38:01.047-08:0050/50Jonathan LevineThe story: Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a young man who does not drink and does not smoke. So the news that he has a rare form of cancer comes as an unexpected shock. He deals with it with help from his best friend Kyle (Seth Rogen), a counsellor younger than himself, Katie (Anna Kendrick), and his concerned mother (Anjelica Huston). The title refers to the chances of inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-20252524891060281432011-11-30T22:35:00.000-08:002011-11-30T22:35:01.442-08:00Jingle bells, holiday’s swell, lots of movies on the way.This is the most wonderful time of the year for children as school is out and Christmas and New Year are just around the corner with the delectable promise of presents and pigging out on seasonal goodies.Even the cineplexes seem more magical as they line up family-friendly fare that everyone can enjoy together. For older folks, there is theinorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-82270010998245541732011-11-25T18:51:00.001-08:002011-11-25T18:51:00.445-08:00Riding A BicycleSoft Lipa & Shin-SkiNo CryingWaa WeiTrack 6Cheer ChenThe hard part to releasing a critically acclaimed album is following it up. And three musicians have taken on the challenge in their own ways – with varying results.Taiwanese rapper Soft Lipa, real name Tu Chen-hsi, joined forces with Japanese jazz quintet on the revelatory Moonlight (2010). This time round, he has worked with inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-59369106227717089142011-11-21T19:32:00.000-08:002011-11-21T19:32:00.815-08:00Crowd Lu Concert Singapore 2011Grand Theater at Marina Bay SandsLast SaturdayForget the movie Happy Feet. The audience at Crowd Lu’s gig was treated instead to the real deal. The Taiwanese singer-songwriter was so engrossed in his songs that his feet threatened to dance away from him in a burst of exuberance.Seized by the music, they would bang together to keep time, twist about in a hypnotic inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-66478175017421591172011-11-18T21:15:00.000-08:002011-11-18T21:15:00.681-08:00Girls’ Generation Vol. 3– The BoysGirls’ GenerationFiveAyumi HamasakiAccording to an online poll by ticketing agent Sistic, Korean group Girls’ Generation is the No. 1 live act requested by Singaporeans.Ahead of their highly anticipated sold-out concerts here on Dec 9 and 10, the nine-member group have released their third Korean album.It is clear that they have their eye on the global market as inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-19575879356910434842011-11-16T18:58:00.000-08:002011-11-16T18:58:00.305-08:00Happy Feet 2George MillerThe story: In Happy Feet (2006), tap-dancing penguin Mumble (Elijah Wood) found his mate, Gloria (popster Pink takes over from the late Brittany Murphy in the sequel). They now have a son Erik (voice actress E.G. Daily), who cannot dance. A bigger problem looms, though, when their colony is trapped by a massive shelf of ice and it is up to father and son to save the day inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-44204531795282741632011-11-16T18:55:00.000-08:002011-11-16T18:55:00.359-08:00Legendary AmazonsFrankie ChanThe story: In the 10th century AD, North Song dynasty’s borders were under constant attack by the people of Western Xia. The men of the Yang family have died in battle and Yang Zongbao (Richie Jen) is the latest to be defeated. His son, Wenguang, the clan’s last male scion, is ordered into battle as well and the women of the family, including his great-grandmother inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-76993160883889365652011-11-11T18:53:00.000-08:002011-11-15T18:54:37.470-08:00Do You Love Me?Wu JiahuiWhere’s the love for Malaysian singer-songwriter Wu Jiahui? Since his debut album in 2008, which was repackaged for the Taiwanese market last year, he has not released anything new – till this EP.His high-pitched, crystal-clear voice is still in good form. He begins the album on a high note, literally, on the word Love. However, the songs here lack the immediacy of inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-58436301504807379332011-11-09T22:06:00.000-08:002011-11-09T22:06:00.422-08:00You Are The Apple Of My EyeGiddens KoThe story: The playful and rascally 16-year-old Ko Ching-teng (Ko Chen-tung) is made to sit in front of goody-two-shoes Shen Chia-yi (Michelle Chen) in class as punishment. To her annoyance, Chia-yi has orders from the teacher to keep an eye on him. They needle each other incessantly at first but gradually, Ching-teng begins to nurse a crush on inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-10049295774020403792011-11-08T22:29:00.000-08:002011-11-08T22:29:00.119-08:00Mosaic - The NationalEsplanade Theatre/SundayLots of bands make broody moody music but none does it like Ohio-born, Brooklyn-based indie rockers The National.There is frontman Matt Berninger’s distinctive voice – a richly resonant and soulful baritone with a magnetic presence. And of course, the magnificent songs, drawn largely from their last two acclaimed albums, Boxer (2007) and High Violet (inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-6559939464237049422011-11-04T19:40:00.000-07:002011-11-04T19:40:00.442-07:00One Way TicketWu Bai & China BlueLeehom New + Best SelectionsWang Lee HomDon’t let Blue Moon, the title of the opening track of his new album, fool you: Veteran Taiwanese singer-songwriter Wu Bai has been releasing albums far more consistently than that. This marks his 16th studio release since 1992’s Loving Others Is A Happy Thing.Over the years, there has been a distinct shift in his sound as inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-38974336797834859282011-11-02T19:36:00.000-07:002011-11-03T19:37:20.976-07:0023:59Gilbert ChanNational service is a rite of passage for every Singaporean male and it comes replete with stories about haunted camps and unclean training grounds.Among the most famous is the one about the bunk with the extra door at the Pulau Tekong camp, perhaps the result of a route march that chillingly ends in tragedy. Given the wealth of material out there, it is disappointing that this inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-51067050075583290222011-10-31T19:22:00.000-07:002011-10-31T19:22:00.285-07:00Faye Wong 2011 ConcertSingapore Indoor Stadium/Last Saturday Banter is part and parcel of every concert experience, except when it comes to a Faye Wong gig.The Chinese pop diva said “xie xie” (thank you) five times and the sixth time, just to mix things up a bit, she said it in Cantonese. And that was the sum total of what she uttered to the sold-out crowd of 6,500.Then again, if you are a fan, inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-30682064379695290292011-10-28T20:19:00.000-07:002011-10-28T20:19:00.141-07:00Bad ManLi I-chun2 Be DifferentCindy YenBack in the early 1990s, Taiwan’s Li I-chun was peddling ballads about being unlucky in love. It seems like her romantic fortunes have not improved.The songstress wails on Adding Hail To Snow: “My love can no longer come true/Can’t wait for the ends of time/If I weren’t soft-hearted time and again/I wouldn’t have been left forlorn time and again.”On the inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-23053827744010658302011-10-28T20:12:00.000-07:002011-10-28T20:12:00.172-07:00The Chinese pop star the world knows as Faye Wong was someone quite different when she started out in show business – literally.Her first three records with Hong Kong’s Cinepoly Records in 1989 and 1990 saddled her with Cantonese covers of American and Japanese hits, and the moniker Shirley Wong Jing Man.Even then, the pristine quality of her clear, unsullied pipes shone through. It was with 1992inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-52906645218845491442011-10-27T23:44:00.000-07:002011-10-27T23:44:00.113-07:00In TimeAndrew NiccolThe story: In this brave new world, a person stops growing older physically at the age of 25 and a timer imprinted on his arm starts counting down to death. But time is a transferable currency: The powerful live forever while the poor eke it out from hour to hour. Ghetto boy Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) wants to shake up the system and finds an unlikely partner in rich girl inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-14995018643349783672011-10-21T03:39:00.000-07:002011-10-25T03:40:05.120-07:00Never Said GoodbyeEric SuenThe Things We Do For LoveJoanna WangHong Kong’s Eric Suen burst onto the Mandopop scene as a fresh-faced 20-year-old back in 1993, with the monster hit Nice To Know You. Then, after a whirlwind five years, the singer-songwriter burnt out and left without bidding the public goodbye.Having released last year’s wellreceived Cantonese album, Man In The Mirror, Suen is readyinorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-83406339515985084452011-10-19T22:43:00.000-07:002011-10-19T22:43:00.685-07:00Life Without PrincipleJohnnie ToThe story: The paths of three cash-strapped characters cross: Bank officer Teresa (Denise Ho) feels the pressure at work as she tries to meet the sales target for a new, risky fund. Police inspector Cheung Jin Fong (Richie Jen) is under pressure from his wife to buy an apartment while thug Panther (Lau Ching Wan) needs a desperate gamble on the stock market to pay inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-68903196508669909372011-10-19T22:42:00.000-07:002011-10-19T22:42:00.227-07:00The HelpTate TaylorThe story: The help refers to the African-American maids working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi, in the early 1960s in the midst of the civil rights movement. Against this backdrop, fresh graduate Skeeter (Emma Stone) persuades her friend’s maid Aibileen (Viola Davis) to tell stories about her life. It is a quiet act of rebellion as what they are doing is against inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-8148009851097233352011-10-19T22:41:00.000-07:002011-10-19T22:41:00.361-07:00One DayLone ScherfigThe story: After their graduation from the University of Edinburgh in 1988, shy Emma Morley (Anne Hathaway) spends a day and night with charming Dexter Mayhew (Jim Sturgess). The film then returns to that one day, July 15, every year to trace the arc of their relationship over more than two decades. Adapted by David Nicholls from his best-selling 2009 novel of the same inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-51634539458425314732011-10-15T00:04:00.001-07:002011-10-18T00:05:34.660-07:00Kit Chan The Music Room Concert 2011Grand Theater at Marina Bay Sands/ThursdayIs it too soon for another gig by home-grown songbird Kit Chan after her sell-out shows at the Esplanade’s Huayi – Chinese Festival Of Arts in February? The answer is a resounding no.Once again, she proves to be a big draw live. Another show was added for tonight after the first two nights on Thursday and Friday at the inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-25647968876032146592011-10-14T02:42:00.001-07:002011-10-14T02:42:33.831-07:00PureAska YangAnother SheClaire KuoPure is as much a Jonathan Lee album as an Aska Yang one. Mandopop veteran Lee produces it and contributes several tracks. His style is so strong on Greed and Because I’m Single that one almost expects to hear his raspy half-sung-half-spoken vocals. Instead, one gets One Million Star alumnus Yang’s clear and emotive voice plumbing love and loss.A lesser singer inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-8120332501544847882011-10-12T02:40:00.000-07:002011-10-14T02:41:09.536-07:00Snowflower and the Secret FanWayne WangThe story: As little girls in early 19th-century China, two sworn sisters have their feet crushed and bound so that they would walk daintily and marry well. Over the years, Snowflower (Gianna Jun) and Lily (Li Bingbing) secretly communicate by writing on silk fans. Their relationship is echoed in the friendship between their descendants Sophia (Jun) and Ninainorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-71431886441147080012011-10-10T02:39:00.000-07:002011-10-14T02:40:22.063-07:00Loud FestivalSingapore Indoor StadiumLast Friday It was only when King of Mandopop Jay Chou came on stage that the concert really lived up to its name.He was the final act after indie Taiwanese band sodagreen, sultry popster Landy Wen, newcomer singer-songwriter Cindy Yen and home-grown band Ang Moh Pais had performed.Fans who had remained glued to their seats the entire night before Chou inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-68270697802892300192011-10-07T21:00:00.001-07:002011-10-07T21:00:01.407-07:00Who Is Hanjin TanHanjin TanIf you want to know about Hanjin Tan, listen to this album.The Hong Kong-based Singaporean musician lays out his life in the opening track Both Hands To The Sky: playing the guitar in bars after national service, leaving his economics degree in the cabinet and taking a gamble on pursuing music full-time and then writing songs for Jacky Cheung and producing for Eason inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-4625721835981098742011-10-05T20:01:00.002-07:002011-10-05T20:03:51.032-07:00Documentaries are often associated with authority figures and experts doling out facts, with the spotlight firmly fixed on the subject in question.Think Sir David Attenborough in his natural history programmes or Errol Morris’ The Fog Of War: Eleven Lessons From The Life Of Robert S McNamara (2003), which looks at the life of the former United States Secretary of Defense.More recently, another inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-81185168637885868142011-10-05T19:59:00.000-07:002011-10-05T20:01:12.507-07:00The Change-UpDavid DobkinIn the opening scene, projectile poop from a baby’s butt scores a bullseye on Jason Bateman’s face. Crap on the big screen – that just about sums up this film.Bateman plays Dave Lockwood, a married- with-children lawyer who is overdue for a mid-life crisis, and Ryan Reynolds is his pal Mitch Planko, a sometime actor who is still living it up as a swinging bachelor.The twoinorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-86150702028164013392011-10-05T19:58:00.000-07:002011-10-05T19:59:34.001-07:00The Sorcerer And The White SnakeChing Siu TungThe story: The White Snake spirit (Eva Huang) takes on human form to be with the man she loves, the herbalist Xu Xian (Raymond Lam). Meanwhile, her soul sister, Green Snake (Charlene Choi), strikes up a friendship with the monk Neng Ren (Wen Zhang). White Snake’s true identity is found out by Neng Ren’s sorcerer teacher Fa Hai (Jet Li), whose mission inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-37719547859442442402011-09-30T23:52:00.000-07:002011-09-30T23:52:00.572-07:00My LoveHebe TienLooking ForJeanie ZhangBad GirlAmber AnnTaiwanese singer – and one-third of girl group S.H.E – Hebe Tien (far right) delivers the goods again on My Love, herfollow-up to last year’s well-received solo debut To Hebe. Left to her own devices, she comes across as a chic hippie chick, all grown up and with a mind of her own. Collaborators such as indie singer- songwriters Sandee Chan,inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-29050000753430117182011-09-28T23:50:00.000-07:002011-09-29T23:51:21.765-07:001911Zhang Li, Jackie ChanThe story: The Xinhai Revolution, which is also the more informative Chinese title, is about the overthrow of the imperial Qing Dynasty and the attempt to establish a republic in China. It is bookended by the Wuchang Uprising on Oct 10, 1911, and the abdication of Emperor Puyi on Feb 12, 1912. The key characters in this political and military drama include revolutionary inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-29953269800438515912011-09-23T23:17:00.000-07:002011-09-23T23:17:00.335-07:00Slow SoulCrowd LuLife Goes On & OnManhandThe exuberant youthful optimism of Taiwanese singer-songwriter Crowd Lu seems to have been tempered somewhat on his third studio album.Apart from the opening track Don’t Call Me When I’m Asleep, the chirpy jingles about breakfast and friendship are gone.But if 100 Ways Of Living from his 2008 debut folk-pop album of the same name was about feeling inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-91420849415549241882011-09-23T23:10:00.000-07:002011-09-23T23:10:00.092-07:00Who says we do not get the seasons here in Singapore? We might not get leaves turning shades of red, orange and brown but we still get to experience autumn – in the form of the American fall TV season.Pay TV operators mio TV and StarHub have been steadily upping their game and Singaporeans have at least 17 new titles heading their way from now till the end of the year, with more to come next inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-78182571630249503372011-09-21T03:14:00.001-07:002011-09-21T03:15:06.384-07:00I Don't Know How She Does ItDouglas McGrathThe story: Kate (Sarah Jessica Parker) juggles marriage to architect Richard (Greg Kinnear), their two young children and a demanding job as an investment banker. When her pitch for a new product is picked up by higher-up Jack (Pierce Brosnan), the tricky act becomes even more frenetic. Based on the 2002 best-selling novel of the same name by Allison inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-79077933619085898472011-09-21T03:13:00.000-07:002011-09-21T03:14:14.703-07:00Fright NightCraig GillespieThe story: Charley (Anton Yelchin) discovers that his next-door neighbour Jerry (Colin Farrell) is a murderous vampire. He turns to Las Vegas showman Peter Vincent (David Tennant), a self-styled vampire expert, for help. Jerry later goes on a rampage to take down Charley, his mother (Toni Collette) and his girlfriend Amy (Imogen Poots). Look out for a cameo from Chris inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-37263904132629415572011-09-16T20:16:00.000-07:002011-09-16T20:16:00.201-07:00Weibird Concert LiveWeibird WeiReleasing a live album after just one full-length record could be either an act of hubris or a blatant attempt to milk the cash cow. The good news is that Taiwanese singer-songwriter Weibird Wei’s offering is neither.There are three strands here: live renditions from his 2010 self-titled debut which won him Best Newcomer at the Golden Melody Awards, covers of inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-83369545859640854372011-09-09T02:29:00.000-07:002011-09-12T02:30:13.787-07:00Not Playing By The RulesMagic PowerErotic is not something that Mandopop, dominated by chaste, cutesy young things, does very often. No wonder six-member band Magic Power have taken it upon themselves to, well, bring sexy back.The title track has them going “You really wanna do do do it all night” over a thumping beat and a bouncy synth line.And on the duet Hush with Della Ding Dang, they heat inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-9020793735012200962011-09-02T02:27:00.000-07:002011-09-12T02:28:04.329-07:00Longing ForRainie YangWith a chic new bob, Taiwanese singer, actress and host Rainie Yang has given up on cutesy behaviour and is ready to act her age – that is, 27 – on her sixth studio album.The title track is sophisticated pop that bodes well for the album. Over a breezily engaging melody by Malaysian singer-songwriter Vchuan Chen, Yang sings of yearning: “Longing for dreams to give me inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-37145046685903489292011-08-30T02:26:00.000-07:002011-09-12T02:27:12.718-07:00It is a holiday trip in which you call the shots. You decide what time to get up and set off, how long to linger at each attraction or even whether to wander off the set path.While Singaporeans are familiar with the pleasures of driving trips in countries such as New Zealand and the United States, the idea can seem rather daunting in a place where you do not understand the language.But on recent inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-92169194864162103662011-08-26T02:25:00.000-07:002011-09-12T02:26:11.587-07:00C’est La “V”Van Ness WuBest known for being a quarter of Taiwanese boyband F4 (now renamed JVKV), Van Ness Wu has always been eclipsed by the uber-popularity of bandmates Jerry Yan and Vic Chou.But with a new album, a hit idol drama Autumn’s Concerto in 2009 and another, Material Queen, currently airing, Wu’s solo star may be shining the brightest at the moment.Material Queen’s theme song Is Thisinorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-86279840775493663542011-08-24T02:23:00.000-07:002011-09-12T02:24:58.403-07:00Treasure HuntWong JingThe story: Peggy (Cecilia Cheung) decides to travel to a remote island to direct an advertisement with the perpetually sozzled star Mr Big (Ronald Cheng). Angered by this, her husband takes off with their son (Lucas Tse). On the island, Peggy and gang encounter an environmentalist, Star (Shao Bing), his son Starlet (Peng Gen) and a group of baddies who are after a long-lost inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-54578524126545955012011-08-19T20:02:00.000-07:002011-08-19T20:02:00.555-07:00RomanceOlivia Ong
Feel About YouBevlyn Khoo
Her work has been released in Japan, she has sung a theme song for the hit MediaCorp series, The Little Nyonya, and she is now releasing on home ground a new album of English and Mandarin numbers about love.I am talking about Olivia Ong. And Bevlyn Khoo. In the Channel 8 drama, Ong crooned Like A Swallow and Khoo sang Keep Warm. Their approach here is inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-44875894931599727512011-08-17T21:14:00.000-07:002011-08-17T21:14:00.084-07:00IncendiesDenis VilleneuveThe story: Acting on instructions in their mother Nawal’s will, siblings Jeanne and Simon Marwan (Melissa Desormeaux-Poulin and Maxim Gaudette) try to deliver letters to a father they thought was dead and to an elder brother they did not know they had. They travel to the Middle East to retrace the journey Nawal (Lubna Azabal) took from the land of her birth to Canada and inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-74774160012480785152011-08-17T21:12:00.000-07:002011-08-17T21:12:00.562-07:00Overheard 2Alan Mak, Felix ChongThe story: Manson (Lau Ching Wan) is the frontman broker for a group of Hong Kong tycoons known as the Landlord Club. Their less-than-legal manipulation of the stock market is being monitored by the tech-savvy Joe (Daniel Wu), who has a score to settle with the head of the club, Tony Wong (Kenneth Tsang). Inspector Jack Ho (Louis Koo) has to find out who the bad inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-72384522298110094442011-08-12T00:04:00.002-07:002011-08-12T00:05:27.167-07:00The RipplesEllen LooHong Kong’s Ellen Loo makes a splash with her debut solo album. Better known as one-half of indie folk-pop duo at17, the singer-songwriter-guitarist proves she has the chops to go it alone.There is a raw edge to her earthy tones. Right off the bat, she makes clear with the spirited The Girl Who Doesn’t Play Dumb that this is not some slick anonymous pop product.This is inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-25129301203614525662011-08-10T19:50:00.000-07:002011-08-10T19:50:00.636-07:00Fortune BuddiesChung Shu KaiIn the 1970s and early 1980s, Hong Kong’s Hui brothers found success with a string of comedies which focused on working-class folks and their hare- brained get-rich-quick schemes.Fortune Buddies employs that same formula, but without success. Actor-hosts Louis Yuen, Wong Cho Lam and Johnson Lee share an easy chemistry and have that will-do-anything-for-a-laugh spirit inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-54268844929495413332011-08-05T23:55:00.000-07:002011-08-05T23:55:01.024-07:00Graceful PorcupineWaa WeiMoonlightSoft Lipa & JabberloopMatzkaMatzkaNewcomers Matzka’s Best Band win at the Golden Melody Awards in June could just help raise the profile for their unique brand of Taiwanese reggae.Their self-titled album, Waa Wei’s Graceful Porcupine and Soft Lipa & Jabberloop’s Moonlight are some under-the-radar releases that deserve to be heard.Singer-songwriter Wei is probablyinorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-68354037748250054972011-07-29T21:08:00.000-07:002011-08-04T23:55:30.263-07:00ConfusionEdison ChenDisgraced singer-actor Edison Chen lays himself bare on this record – his first album since the sex photo scandal involving him and a bevy of female Hong Kong celebrities broke in January 2008.For those who want to parse this for his take on the entire affair, he offers plenty of fodder.In his hip-hop update on the doo-wop of Mr Sandman, he raps in Mandarin: “My name is Chen inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-9782214211953178852011-07-27T21:06:00.000-07:002011-08-01T21:07:23.340-07:00West Is WestAyub Khan-DinThe story: Fifteen-year-old Sajid (Aqib Khan) is bullied at school for being half-Pakistani. His father George Khan (Om Puri) decides that it is time Sajid learnt to be proud of his roots and takes the boy to Pakistan for a visit. Sajid’s English mother Ella (Linda Bassett) is worried about the trip because George still has a wife and family back in Pakistan.In East Is inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-89717329900835269032011-07-25T21:27:00.000-07:002011-07-25T21:27:00.634-07:00Fish – The Love Library World Tour 2011Singapore Indoor StadiumLast SaturdayIt was the perfect endorsement of her title as Queen of Love Songs. During Malaysian singer Fish Leong’s concert, a fan went down on his knees and proposed to his girlfriend while his buddies held up placards to help him pop the question.Safe to say that this was truly a most memorable concert for that couple as Leong inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-29052293882366878372011-07-22T21:23:00.000-07:002011-07-24T21:24:45.151-07:00Compass Of LifeDadado HuangThink of this as the antithesis of K-pop. Instead of brash hooks propelled by thumping beats, we get gently strummed acoustic guitars. It’s Kings Of Convenience’s Quiet Is The New Loud mantra adapted for the Taiwanese folk scene.Indie singer-songwriter Huang Jie (right) is after the authenticity of experience and emotion. The first track, My High School Classmates, inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-50188755152339133102011-07-20T03:22:00.000-07:002011-07-21T03:22:40.599-07:00Wu XiaPeter ChanThe story: Liu Jinxi (Donnie Yen) appears to be a simple papermaker living with his wife (Tang Wei) and two sons in a quiet village. His real identity is questioned when he, unarmed, kills two highly skilled brigands who try to rob a shop. Detective Xu Baijiu (Takeshi Kaneshiro) investigates and discovers his connection to a powerful, shadowy figure known as The Master (Jimmy Wanginorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-47845872397674377802011-07-20T03:20:00.000-07:002011-07-21T03:20:51.390-07:00Win WinThomas McCarthyThe story: Mike Flaherty (Paul Giamatti) is a middle-aged family man struggling to keep it all together. His legal practice is barely surviving, he has bills to pay and the high school wrestling team he is coaching is stuck on a losing streak. Through some questionable manoeuvring, he begins to collect monthly cheques for looking after an older client, Leo (Burt Young). Theninorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-18555563070177995842011-07-15T23:34:00.000-07:002011-07-17T23:35:40.568-07:00Ocean Butterflies 25th Anniversary Concert CompilationVarious artistsWhat better way to tell the story of a record label than through its music?Home-grown Ocean Butterflies marked a quarter of a century in existence with a big bash concert at The Max Pavilion on June 25, and has now released a commemorative album.The title is somewhat misleading as the songs collected here are not from the gig inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-14961033199303924992011-07-13T23:30:00.000-07:002011-07-17T23:31:14.480-07:00A Beautiful LifeAndrew LauThe story: Outgoing Li Peiru (Shu Qi) works as a property agent in Beijing. She and shy copper Fang Zhendong (Liu Ye) meet at a karaoke joint one night when she throws up on him after one too many drinks. Thus begins a tangled relationship set against the backdrop of an economic downturn, a terminal illness and more boozing.There needs to be a moratorium on Shu Qi actinginorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-23019833613742787932011-07-08T19:59:00.001-07:002011-07-08T19:59:00.663-07:00I Love You, JohnSandee ChanTaiwan’s Sandee Chan has tackled weighty topics before. The song Too Late examined death, while her last album’s title track, If There Is One Thing That Is Important, wrestled with the question of what fans are looking for. For her existential pains, she walked away with the Golden Melody Award for Best Mandarin Female Singer in 2009.This time around, the inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-4235806060532315312011-07-01T20:48:00.000-07:002011-07-01T20:48:00.081-07:00Japanese SingerKen HiraiThe title may be prosaic, the record is anything but.The smooth vocal stylings of Japanese singer-songwriter Ken Hirai cover quite a bit of ground on his eighth studio album.R&B is a self-deprecating exploration of his identity: “R&B, I’m Japanese, but I love it/Although my dance moves aren’t fantastic/R&B, I’m Japanese, but I love it/Although my English ain’t that great.”inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-14799620368520663572011-06-24T20:47:00.000-07:002011-06-24T20:47:00.265-07:00Not AloneYen-jAfter losing out on the Golden Melody Best New Artiste award to Weibird Wei, Taiwanese singer-songwriter Yen-j has pipped him to the release of a sophomore album.Yen-j rightly deserved a nomination for the fresh jazz-pop sounds of Thanks Your Greatness (2010). And the bouncy opener here Thanks For Your Inspiration initially suggests that Not Alone will be more of the same – both in inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-57547871754967961472011-06-22T20:32:00.000-07:002011-06-22T20:32:00.585-07:00Treasure InnWong JingIf Hong Kong’s Wong Jing had a middle name, it would be Prolific. He has directed 98 films, produced 138 and has scriptwriter credit for 149. His output is highly erratic, encompassing everything from the action comedy of the classic God Of Gamblers (1989) to sexploitation flicks such as Raped By An Angel 4: The Raper’s Union (1999).Happily, Treasure Inn is in the vein of theinorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-16674262923171299022011-06-22T20:31:00.000-07:002011-06-22T20:31:00.626-07:0013 AssassinsTakashi MiikeThe story: In the dying days of the feudal system in Japan, Lord Naritsugu’s (Goro Inagaki) twisted appetite for sex and violence ignites widespread outrage. But he is above the law as he is the younger brother of the shogun. A trusted samurai Shinzaemon (Koji Yakusho) is hired to kill Naritsugu and he rounds up 11 more men for the job. They are later joined by a hunter inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-64555329261388634032011-06-17T20:30:00.000-07:002011-06-21T20:31:11.062-07:00Green LanternMartin CampbellThe story: Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) is a brash and cocky pilot who has yet to come to terms with his father’s death in a plane crash. He also has an unresolved relationship with fellow pilot Carol Ferris (Blake Lively). Naturally, all this makes him the top pick to be a new Green Lantern warrior, the first human to be chosen to be a protector of the universe. His inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-25393301074866985442011-06-17T20:29:00.000-07:002011-06-21T20:30:25.438-07:00The Tell Tale HeartTizzy BacTaiwanese indie stalwarts Tizzy Bac take inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe’s macabre tale of murder and insanity on their fifth full-length album.The first nine tracks – beginning with All Is Dream and ending with Dream Is Over – can be taken as a song cycle in which the trio tackle the darker side of relationships and life with numbers such as Death Of An Insurance inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-86161641089838128792011-06-15T19:27:00.000-07:002011-06-15T19:27:00.144-07:00Pinoy SundayHo Wi DingThe story: Filipinos Dado (Bayani Agbayani) and Manuel (Jeffrey ‘Epy’ Quizon) are guest workers in Taipei. One Sunday, they come across a red couch that is abandoned on the street and decide to haul it back to their dormitory.One of the pleasures of watching films is the fact that it can open a window into a new world – which sometimes happens to be one you are familiar withinorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-78258493494569541572011-06-10T20:32:00.000-07:002011-06-12T20:33:56.078-07:00DivaWakin ChauTaiwan’s Wakin Chau gets in touch with his feminine side – complete with make-up and hairpiece. Yes, that’s him on the cover as a Chinese opera female impersonator. The makeover makes sense since Chau is covering songs by women singers here. He does not change the gender in the material, so on Winnie Hsin’s Understanding, he sings: “I thought I would seek revenge/But I didn’t/When Iinorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-11471390709355659672011-06-08T23:29:00.001-07:002011-06-08T23:29:00.731-07:00Something BorrowedLuke GreenfieldThe story: Attorney Rachel (Ginnifer Goodwin) is the wallflower to Darcy’s (Kate Hudson) obnoxious Venus flytrap. Somehow though, they have remained best friends through the years and Darcy even met her husband-to-be Dex (Colin Egglesfield) through Rachel. Then one night, after having had too much to drink, Rachel ends up sleeping with Dex. Ginnifer Goodwin is 33 inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-47864818863088022192011-06-05T23:52:00.000-07:002011-06-05T23:53:36.705-07:00Finishing The HatBy Stephen SondheimAmerican composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim is a towering figure in the genre of musical theatre. His body of work is held in such high esteem that a 1994 New York Magazine cover story even asked, “Is Stephen Sondheim God?”He started out as a lyricist for the hit shows West Side Story (1957) and Gypsy (1959) and went on to pen both the music and words for inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-10507640562300044562011-06-03T21:09:00.000-07:002011-06-03T21:09:00.527-07:00R U Watching?A-MeiAll eyes are on how the Taiwanese diva will follow up her 2009 breakthrough album Amit. For Amit, she had scooped six trophies, including one for Best Female Vocalist, at the Golden Melody Awards last year. There is no sign here of Amit, the alter ego unveiled on her last record, although her latest offering does display a split personality. R U Watching? is daringly sequenced, inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-25759696236421400562011-05-27T00:31:00.000-07:002011-05-27T00:33:12.509-07:0015Khalil FongHong Kong-based singer-songwriter Khalil Fong is singing the blues on his fifth studio album of originalmaterial. The title refers to the age he first learnt to play the guitar, under the influence of Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and B.B. King. In a spoken interlude at the beginning of Because Of You, the question is posed whether the new songs are different from his previous offeringsinorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-90165875444396224862011-05-26T23:12:00.000-07:002011-05-26T23:12:00.739-07:00The Adventures Of The Mad ChinamanEsplanade Recital Studio/Tuesday The title of home-grown singer-songwriter Dick Lee’s solo revue is taken from his 2004 autobiography. The show, as he jokingly told the full- house crowd, is for those who cannot read. Tickets for all three performances have been snapped up.But even those who can read will enjoy this intimate evening of music and reminiscing whichinorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-26760208931377834602011-05-25T23:10:00.000-07:002011-05-25T23:11:19.787-07:00Dylan Dog: Dead Of NightKevin MunroeThe story: When her father is killed by a mysterious creature, Elizabeth (Anita Briem) seeks down-and-out paranormal investigator Dylan Dog (Brandon Routh) to look into the case. He does so with the help of his undead assistant Marcus (Sam Huntington). Based on the Italian comic book Dylan Dog by Tiziano Sclavi.When American actor Brandon Routh was announced asinorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-87438661526896898132011-05-20T19:45:00.000-07:002011-05-20T19:45:00.214-07:00Perfect LifeYoga LinTaiwanese singer Yoga Lin’s last album Senses Around (2009) was an impressive concept album that pointed to his growth and ambition as a musician.Perfect Life, the third record from the champ of the singing contest One Million Star in 2007, is yet another winner.The 23-year-old works with a wide range of composers and lyricists. Yet, Perfect Life feels cohesive, even as it inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-89600318621793751312011-05-19T00:45:00.000-07:002011-05-19T00:47:10.676-07:00In A Better WorldSusanne BierThe story: Anton (Mikael Persbrandt) is a Swedish doctor who divides his time between working in a Sudanese refugee camp and living in Denmark. His 12-year-old son Elias (Markus Rygaard) is bullied at school and new boy Christian (William Johnk Nielsen) comes to his rescue. When Anton is later slapped by a stranger at a playground, Christian comes up with a terrible inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-49274900693842299352011-05-13T00:47:00.000-07:002011-05-19T00:49:02.118-07:00Opus VI – AtlantisF.I.R.Six albums in, F.I.R. are exploring and tinkering with their sound, pushing the boundaries of their musical map. The Taiwanese trio made their name with a distinctive pop-rock groove. Then, for a while, producer Ian Chen, guitarist/vocalist Real Huang and singer Faye Chan threatened to become predictable and boring. On their latest album, however, they do not sound like inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-26133685014478118912011-05-11T00:09:00.001-07:002011-05-11T00:09:46.982-07:00The Detective 2Oxide PangThe story: The near-sighted private detective Tam (Aaron Kwok) looks into a series of seemingly unrelated grisly murders upon the request of his police inspector friend Fung Chak (Liu Kai Chi). Their ongoing investigation alternates with the story of a young boy who grows up to be disturbed and violent when he finds out the truth about his parentage.Late in this sequel toinorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-48071947470272860552011-05-11T00:05:00.000-07:002011-05-11T00:08:21.671-07:00BeastlyDaniel BarnzThe story: High-school kid Kyle (Alex Pettyfer) is rich, good-looking and arrogant. When he humiliates fellow student Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen), she casts a spell that makes him look as ugly on the outside as he is inside. His only hope for the curse to be lifted is for Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens) to see beyond the surface and fall in love with him. A modern-day retelling of the inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-49187517011217031542011-05-06T01:57:00.000-07:002011-05-10T01:57:51.204-07:00Lee Chien NaGina LeeWith so many singing competition winners jostling to release albums, no wonder the wait for those who did not win can be rather long.Taiwan’s Gina Lee made it to the top 10 of the popular One Million Star show in 2007 but is releasing her Mandarin debut album only now.Her Golden Horse win for Best New Performer in the romantic drama omnibus Juliets (2010) probably didn’t inorbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5636720.post-67063934183918370822011-05-04T01:07:00.002-07:002011-05-04T01:08:39.963-07:00Red DragonfliesLiao JiekaiThe story: Junior college students Rachel (Oon Yee Jeng), Tien (Yeo Shang Xuan) and Jun (Ong Kuan Loong) explore disused railway tracks and then an accident happens. Years later, Rachel (played by Ng Xuan Ming as an adult) and Tien (played by Jason Hui as an adult) cross paths again.The title references the 1990 Mandopop hit of the same name by the now-defunct boyband inorbitnoreply@blogger.com